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My Clinical Experience Report

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Published: Mar 13, 2024

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Keeping a Positive Outlook: My Clinical Experience as a Student Nurse 

Submitted by Ashley P. Cohen, Student Nurse, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences School of Nursing, Class of 2011, Boston, MA.

Tags: clinical clinical experience health care nursing students preceptorship student nurse

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An attitude is an important thing. It can shape the way the individual sees an experience and how observers see the individual. An attitude can entirely make or break an experience. This is as true in clinical experiences as it is in life. My experience in my senior year clinical preceptorship was without a doubt unique but I feel its uniqueness was in what I made of it, something every nursing student can do for themselves. If there is one lesson to gain from reading about my experiences it should be that the success of a clinical, whether a preceptorship or group experience, is entirely what the student makes of it.

My first day I walked into the ICU and almost ran right back out, thinking “Get me out of here!” It was a 10 bed unit, the traditional glass ICU room doors, two crash carts at either end of the unit, patient charts seemingly everywhere, precaution carts, glucometers, IV poles and pumps, doctors running into the room at the end of the hall, telemetry monitors beeping and spitting out rhythm strips. Little did I know these sounds and sights would eventually become more calming than frightening. I kept thinking to myself how was I, a student, going to handle a clinical placement on this floor? My last medical surgical clinical had been the previous summer, it was now March, how could I possibly remember the necessary skills to be ok here? What if I forgot the important skills? I had been in the same group of large Boston teaching hospitals for every other clinical experience, now I found myself in a small 95 bed suburban hospital. “A Paper chart… this hospital uses paper charts?” was another of my first impressions. I met with my preceptor, a nurse with 30 years experience. I was intimidated. She let me know that I would work towards covering her patient load, with her supervision of course. I would also be expected to know my dosage calculations and all of my medication facts; she let me know that “robot nursing” was not how we would handle things. Nurses around the floor began to tell me that she had taught many of them and that she was tough but I would learn a lot. To a new student this was reassuring but hearing that she was nicknamed “sarg” only added to my mounting fears of this experience.

On my first day we met at the patient assignment board to receive report from the night shift charge nurse. She methodically went through each of the patients on the board, “Patient presents to emergency department unresponsive…” “Patient intubated and heavily sedated…” “Patient on Cardiezem drip” “Patient in septic shock, treating with Xigris drip.” Hearing this certainly didn’t help my nerves. My first patient was on a ventilator, in congestive heart failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We went into the room and my preceptor told me to “get started.” I froze. Then, suddenly it came to me, “we always assess first,” and I did my head to toe assessment.  I remembered this from one of my first nursing classes, Health Assessment. “Ok” I thought, “I remember how to do this.” My preceptor let me know I forgot the check pedal pulses. “Darn” I thought, how could I forget something like that? My preceptor reassured me, it was my first time doing a full assessment in a while, and forgetting one thing was “not a big deal.” As the day went on she allowed me to complete more and more tasks. We went to get 8 am medications; she quizzed me on each of them. By 11 am I was deep suctioning my patient on the ventilator. I was learning ventilator settings, what was PEEP, PIP, Ftot, Fi02, VT, VE, and what the numbers that went along with each meant physiologically. I also began to learn what each of these numbers meant for my patient’s health. Little did I know that five days later I would be extubating this patient as his family moved him to comfort care only. Little did I know that later that same day I would be performing the post mortem care on this patient. I learned quickly that I would need to adjust to the pace of the ICU, as I had to adjust to every other floor I was on for clinical. Each floor has its own pace, its own rhythm, and as a student we must become a part of the flow, not obstruct it or try to work against it.

Another patient I had during my experience was a woman with COPD who was in end stage heart failure. She was another ventilated patient, slowly I was becoming really good with these ventilators. I wasn’t messing up on my head to toe assessments. I could fill out those seemingly silly paper charts. I was figuring out where to find things in the supply room. After a another few days my patient was able to be extubated. As she began to gain consciousness a lively 70 year old woman came from someone who had been a living version of my anatomy book on the bed. She would eventually tell the nurse and me that she wanted to be moved to comfort measures only and hospice home care. She let the nurse and I know that she wanted to go home to smoke and drink her vodka until she passed away in peace. I learned that we don’t always like our patient’s decisions, but we must respect them.

One of my last patients was a man in severe septic shock; a complication of a prostate biopsy. He had what seemed like ten medications going in IV lines at any given time, not including all of the fluids they were piggybacked off of. He had two peripheral IV sites as well as a right internal jugular central line for his infusions. A problem came up however; he wasn’t putting out any urine. At one point his input was somewhere around 1600ml to a 15ml output, his output became a huge cause for concern, someone being fluid resuscitated and not putting out urine, I began to wonder about his kidney function. Another part of my education I began to appreciate, all of my classes were coming together, I was thinking systematically. I watched as a team of nurses and doctors tried to save this man’s life. We ran blood cultures times what seemed like a million, a urinalysis, ultrasounds of the heart and kidneys, EKGs, CPK/Troponin levels, serum blood levels, and electrolyte levels among other things. Then I began to hear my preceptor say “start the bicarb in the distal port” “what is his output?” “let’s get him on the cooling blanket” “get a set of vitals,” I was being actively involved in this critical patient’s care. Although I was petrified I kept a positive and open attitude. I thought, “I can do this, I have been here for four weeks, I know how to do this.” I was practicing skills I had learned back in my old, at the time outdated, basement nursing lab. These skills I thought were long lost somewhere in my memory were coming back to me, just as the cliché says, like riding a bike.  As unprepared as I had felt going into this clinical experience I slowly began to realize that I was prepared and I did know what I was doing.

Knowing what I was doing surprised me. How could a few labs and clinical placements on an orthopedic floor, a labor and delivery floor, a detox unit, and a general psych floor help me be prepared for the acuity of patients on an ICU? I couldn’t believe it. Every single clinical experience, every single lab, and every single clinical simulation helped. The smallest skills I learned in clinical and lab, those skills that seemed so easy that I wondered if the professors were questioning my mental capacity, became the skills I used on a regular basis, the ones that made the biggest difference in my practice. You think making a bed is so easy? Try doing it with a six foot, five inch man who weighs 250lbs and getting the sheets straight because he’s sedated and you don’t want to risk skin breakdown. You think oral care is a joke to be learning about in lab? Tell that to the patient with oral candidiasis who wants nothing more than a swab to keep his mouth comfortable. These little things make an enormous difference to even the most complex patients. Again, the attitude in learning these skills should be a positive one. You want to provide your patients with the best care possible, in order to this you must start by practicing the best possible skills in clinical, lab, and preceptorships. Every day in clinical presents a new challenge, you will come upon things you didn’t even know you were afraid to do, but with the help and guidance of a preceptor or clinical instructor, you will get through the experience and be better for it. You should seek out these challenges, and do what scares you. If it scares you now imagine what the feeling would be when you have that “RN” or “LPN” at the end of your name, those little letters making you responsible for your patient’s care. As students we need to advocate for ourselves, gaining as many experiences as possible before we graduate and are on our own. Expose yourself to as much as possible. If a nurse down the hall has a patient getting a procedure done, ask to watch. If another nurse’s patient needs a dressing change, ask to do it! Be determined, remember to wake up thinking “I get to practice for my career today,” don’t go in with the “ugh, I’m tired, why do I have to be here” attitude. Remember that your education is your choice. Nobody will force you to attend clinical, sure there are consequences for not going, but ultimately the decision to be in school and to attend clinical is the student’s.

We all get tired, we all have challenges outside of school, but with a positive attitude about learning and a little determination to succeed we can all get through any clinical experience, learn a great deal from it, and enjoy the learning. I can’t say it enough; any clinical experience will be what you make of it. Two students in the same clinical group can have incredibly different experiences if one goes in positively and the other negatively. Nurses will notice who the students are that want to learn, they will seek you out to teach you if they think you want to be taught. There will always be the one intimidating, scary, or “grumpy” nurse on the floor. From my experiences I have learned that they usually can be won over if you show them that you are a serious student, there to learn from them, not to judge the way they practice. If nurses notice that you are just stuck on autopilot, doing only what is absolutely required of you in clinical, they won’t have an interest in teaching you, and why should they?

They say life is what you make of it, well, it is my opinion that the same is true for clinical and preceptorship experiences.  The more you as a student advocate for yourself, the more experiences you gain exposure to, the better nurse you will be. You will be more prepared for your eventual practice and feel more comfortable joining the professional world. Remember that you are more prepared for clinical than you think. You will make mistakes, we all do, nurses with years of experience still make mistakes. The important thing to do is look at your mistakes, learn from them, and move forward. Keep a positive attitude and realize that you are learning. Never be afraid to try a skill again just because you made a mistake, you should in fact force yourself into this experience again, so that you know you can do it. It would be hard to find a nurse who didn’t miss trying to insert a catheter, but with practice we all become comfortable with it. You didn’t stop trying to walk after your first fall, did you? Skills will come with time and practice. You will be scared; there will be days you want to quit. There will be days you will question if nursing is for you. Over time these days will become few and far between, and you will feel the rewards of nursing. A patient’s thanks and appreciation will make all the hard work worth it. In regards to mistakes, my preceptor had this to say for all students, “It’s the learning curve, none of us (nurses) are expecting you to be perfect, we’re just expecting that you try your hardest and show us you want this.” So remember, we’re students, not super heroes, we won’t be perfect, but with a positive attitude, we can make any experience a great and rewarding one.

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How to Write a Nursing Reflective Essay as a BSN Nursing Student

• November 29, 2023

Welcome to NursingWriters.net, your go-to resource for expert information and guidance on writing nursing essays. In this article, we will provide you, as a BSN nursing student , with a comprehensive guide on how to write a compelling nursing reflective essay. Reflective essays are a personal reflection on your experiences in the nursing profession, and we are here to help you navigate this writing challenge.

As a busy nursing student, we understand that you may have limited time to spare. That’s where NursingWriters.net comes in, empowering you to excel in your BSN program by providing expert guidance on different writing and comprehension challenges you may face. Let’s dive into the world of nursing reflective essays and discover how you can effectively express your thoughts and insights.

Key Takeaways:

• Reflective essays allow nursing students to reflect on their experiences and personal growth in the profession.
• A nursing reflective essay is different from a personal statement, focusing on self-reflection rather than academic achievements.
• Key elements to include in a nursing reflective essay are the inciting incident, personal reflections, vivid details, and actions taken.
• The introduction should grab the reader’s attention and provide a clear thesis statement.
• The body paragraphs should delve into the writer’s reflections and emotions with specific examples and anecdotes.

What Is a Reflective Essay in Nursing?

A reflective essay in nursing is a powerful tool that allows nursing students to analyze their experiences, emotions, and actions related to their nursing practice. It provides an opportunity for self-reflection, critical thinking, and personal growth. Reflective writing can help nurses develop a deeper understanding of their own practice, improve patient care, and enhance their professional development.

Reflective essays in nursing differ from personal statements in that they focus on specific experiences and their impact on the writer’s growth and development. These essays require the writer to critically reflect on their actions, emotions, and thoughts, and identify ways to improve their practice. By examining their experiences and applying reflective frameworks, nursing students can gain valuable insights into their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth.

When writing a reflective essay in nursing , it is important to follow a structured approach. This includes describing the incident or experience, analyzing personal thoughts and feelings, exploring the actions taken, and reflecting on the outcomes and implications. By structuring the essay effectively, nursing students can communicate their reflections in a clear and organized manner.

Key Elements to Include in a Nursing Reflective Essay

When writing a nursing reflective essay, it is important to include key elements that will make your essay comprehensive and impactful. These elements will help you convey your thoughts and experiences clearly, allowing the reader to gain a deeper understanding of your reflections on nursing practice.

Inciting Incident or Event

The first key element to include in your nursing reflective essay is the inciting incident or event. This is the moment or experience that triggered your reflection and made a significant impact on your practice. It could be a challenging patient encounter, an ethical dilemma, or a personal realization. By describing this event in detail, you set the stage for your reflective journey.

Personal Reflections

Your nursing reflective essay should also include personal reflections on the experience. This is where you delve into your thoughts, feelings, and emotions related to the inciting incident. Reflect on how the event made you feel, what you learned from it, and how it has influenced your growth as a nursing professional. Be honest and vulnerable in your reflections, as this will allow the reader to connect with your experience on a deeper level.

Vivid Setting and Descriptive Details

To create a vivid and engaging narrative, include specific details that paint a picture of the setting and the people involved. Describe the physical environment, the interactions between healthcare professionals and patients, and any other relevant details that contribute to the overall context of the experience. This will help the reader visualize the situation and understand the complexities of the event.

Actions Taken

Finally, it is important to describe the actions you took in response to the inciting incident. Discuss how you applied your nursing knowledge and skills to address the challenges or opportunities presented by the event. Reflect on the effectiveness of your actions and whether there were any areas for improvement. This demonstrates your ability to critically analyze your own practice and make informed decisions.

By including these key elements in your nursing reflective essay, you can create a comprehensive and impactful piece of writing that showcases your growth and development as a nursing professional.

How to Write the Introduction of a Nursing Reflective Essay

The introduction of a nursing reflective essay plays a crucial role in capturing the reader’s attention and setting the tone for the entire essay. It should provide a concise overview of the main points that will be discussed and create a sense of curiosity and engagement. Here are some tips to help you write an effective introduction for your nursing reflective essay:

• Start with an intriguing opening line: Begin your introduction with a captivating statement or anecdote that relates to the topic of your essay. This will grab the reader’s attention and make them eager to continue reading.
• Provide context and background information: Give a brief overview of the event or experience that you will be reflecting on in your essay. This will help the reader understand the context and significance of your reflections.
• Present a clear thesis statement: Your thesis statement should clearly state the main purpose of your essay and the specific points or themes that you will be exploring. This will give the reader a preview of what to expect in the body of the essay.

By following these tips, you can craft an introduction that captivates the reader and sets the stage for a compelling nursing reflective essay.

“As I walked into the busy hospital ward on my first day of clinical rotation, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. Little did I know that this experience would become a pivotal moment in my nursing journey, shaping my understanding of empathy, communication, and patient-centered care. In this reflective essay, I will delve into the details of this encounter and explore the personal and professional growth that resulted from it.”

With an attention-grabbing opening, providing context, and presenting a clear thesis statement, your introduction will set the stage for a compelling nursing reflective essay that captures the reader’s attention and lays the foundation for your reflections.

Nursing Reflection Essay Tips and Examples

Writing a nursing reflective essay requires careful consideration and thoughtful analysis. Here are some tips to help you craft an impactful and meaningful reflection essay as a BSN nursing student . Additionally, we will provide examples to illustrate how these tips can be applied.

Tips for Writing a Nursing Reflection Essay:

• Start by choosing a specific experience or event that had a significant impact on your nursing practice. This could be a challenging patient encounter, a critical incident, or a personal realization that transformed your perspective.
• Reflect on the experience and consider how it affected your emotions, thoughts, and actions. What did you learn from the experience? How has it shaped your growth as a nursing professional?
• Focus on the key aspects of the experience that were particularly impactful or meaningful to you. Avoid including unnecessary details or deviating from the main message of your reflection.
• Use specific examples, anecdotes, or patient scenarios to support your reflections. This will make your essay more engaging and relatable to the reader.
• Consider the ethical implications of the experience and reflect on how it has influenced your approach to patient care and decision-making.
• End your essay with a reflection on the implications of your learning for future nursing practice. How will you apply the lessons learned to provide better care and improve patient outcomes?

Now, let’s take a look at two examples of nursing reflective essays to further illustrate these tips:

“During my clinical rotation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), I encountered a complex patient case that challenged my critical thinking skills and decision-making abilities. The patient was a middle-aged woman who had undergone a complicated surgery and experienced numerous post-operative complications. This experience taught me the importance of collaboration within the healthcare team and the significance of advocating for the patient’s best interests…”

“One of the most significant experiences during my nursing education was my time spent in the pediatric oncology unit. Witnessing the resilience and bravery of children facing life-threatening illnesses had a profound impact on my perspective as a nurse. It taught me the importance of providing holistic care, not only addressing physical needs but also supporting emotional well-being and promoting a positive environment for healing…”

These examples demonstrate how personal reflections, specific details, and professional insights can be incorporated to create a compelling nursing reflective essay. Remember to structure your essay in a clear and organized manner, ensuring that your reflections flow logically and coherently.

By following these tips and utilizing examples, you can create a compelling nursing reflective essay that showcases your growth and development as a nursing professional.

How to Conclude a Nursing Reflective Essay

The conclusion of a nursing reflective essay serves as the final reflection on the writer’s growth and learning from the experience. It is an essential part of the essay that summarizes the main points discussed and leaves a lasting impression on the reader. The reflective essay conclusion should bring closure to the essay by restating the thesis statement and highlighting the key takeaways from the essay.

To write a strong and impactful conclusion, start by restating the thesis statement in a clear and concise manner. This reminds the reader of the main focus of the essay and reinforces its significance. Next, summarize the key points discussed in the body paragraphs, highlighting the most important insights and reflections. This helps to reinforce the main ideas and ensures that they are not overlooked in the final reflection.

In addition to summarizing the main points, a thought-provoking statement or future outlook can be included to provide a sense of closure and leave the reader with something to ponder. This can be a reflection on how the experience has influenced the writer’s future practice or a call to action for continued personal and professional growth. By ending the essay on a strong and meaningful note, the conclusion enhances the overall impact of the nursing reflective essay.

A well-crafted conclusion is essential for a nursing reflective essay as it reinforces the main ideas, leaves a lasting impression on the reader, and provides a sense of closure. By following these tips, nursing students can create a powerful and impactful conclusion that enhances the overall effectiveness of their reflective essays.

Tips for Writing a Nursing Reflective Essay

Writing a nursing reflective essay can be a challenging task, but with the right approach, it can also be a rewarding experience. Here are some helpful tips and strategies to guide nursing students in their essay writing process:

• Start early: Give yourself plenty of time to brainstorm ideas, reflect on your experiences, and write and revise your essay. Starting early will help you avoid last-minute stress and allow for a more thoughtful and polished essay.
• Conduct thorough self-reflection: Before you begin writing, take the time to reflect on your experiences and emotions related to your nursing practice. Consider how these experiences have shaped your growth and development as a nurse, and what lessons you have learned along the way.
• Organize your thoughts and ideas: Create an outline or a rough structure for your essay to ensure a logical flow of ideas. Group similar thoughts and reflections together to create cohesive paragraphs, and use headings or subheadings to further organize your essay.
• Seek feedback: Share your essay with trusted peers or instructors and ask for their feedback. They can offer valuable insights, provide constructive criticism, and help you refine your essay to make it stronger and more impactful.

Additionally, it is important to pay attention to the technical aspects of your essay:

• Grammar and spelling: Proofread your essay carefully to ensure it is free of any grammatical or spelling errors. Use grammar and spell-check tools, and consider asking someone else to review your essay for a fresh perspective.
• Coherent writing style: Use clear and concise language to convey your thoughts and reflections. Avoid excessive jargon or technical terms, and focus on communicating your ideas effectively.
• Formatting guidelines: Follow any formatting guidelines provided by your instructor or institution. Pay attention to font style, size, spacing, and citation style if required.

By following these tips and strategies, nursing students can approach their reflective essay writing with confidence and produce compelling and insightful essays that showcase their growth and development in the nursing profession.

Reflective Tools and Models for Nursing Reflective Essays

Reflective tools and models can provide structure and guidance for nursing students when writing reflective essays. These tools help organize thoughts and experiences, allowing for a more comprehensive and meaningful reflection. By utilizing reflection models , nursing students can enhance their reflective writing skills and deepen their understanding of their own growth and development as healthcare professionals.

Gibbs’ Reflective Model

“Reflective practice is both an art and a science that requires ongoing commitment and practice.” – Gibbs

Gibbs’ Reflective Model is a widely used reflection framework in nursing. It consists of six stages: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. This model encourages a structured approach to reflection, allowing the writer to systematically explore their thoughts and emotions, analyze the situation, and identify areas for improvement or further development.

Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Model

“We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.” – Dewey

Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Model focuses on the importance of reflection as a tool for learning and growth. It emphasizes the need to actively engage with experiences, thoughts, and emotions, and to critically evaluate them in order to gain deeper insights and understanding. This model encourages nursing students to think analytically and develop a continuous learning mindset.

Kolb Reflective Model

“Knowledge results from the combination of grasping experience and transforming it.” – Kolb

The Kolb Reflective Model is based on the concept of experiential learning. It consists of four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. This model encourages nursing students to engage in a cyclical process of learning, where they actively participate in experiences, reflect on them, conceptualize their insights, and apply their learning in real-life situations.

Schön Reflective Model

“Reflection-in-action is the heart of the learning process.” – Schön

Schön Reflective Model emphasizes the importance of reflection in the midst of action. It focuses on the ability to think and adapt in real-time, making decisions based on professional knowledge and experiences. This model encourages nursing students to develop a reflective mindset that allows them to learn and grow while actively engaging in their practice.

Benefits of Reflective Writing in Nursing

Reflective writing plays a crucial role in nursing practice, offering numerous benefits for nursing students and professionals alike. By engaging in reflective writing, nurses can enhance their self-awareness, develop their critical thinking skills, and gain a deeper understanding of patient experiences. This section will explore the advantages of reflective writing in nursing and its significance in healthcare.

Enhanced Self-Awareness

Reflective writing fosters self-reflection, allowing nurses to examine their thoughts, emotions, and actions in various clinical situations. Through this process, they gain a deeper understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. This heightened self-awareness enables nurses to provide more effective and compassionate patient care, fostering a patient-centered approach.

Improved Critical Thinking

Reflective writing encourages nurses to think critically about their experiences and the impact of their actions. It requires them to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of their decision-making and problem-solving skills. By reflecting on past experiences, nurses can identify areas where they can enhance their clinical practice and make informed decisions based on evidence and best practices.

Increased Empathy and Understanding

Through reflective writing, nurses develop a deeper empathy and understanding of patient experiences. By reflecting on their interactions with patients, nurses can recognize the emotions, fears, and challenges faced by individuals in their care. This increased empathy enables nurses to provide more holistic and patient-centered care, improving the overall healthcare experience for patients.

Continuous Professional Development

Reflective writing is an essential tool for nurses’ continuous professional development. It allows them to document their growth, learning, and achievements throughout their nursing career. By regularly engaging in reflective writing, nurses can identify areas for further development, set goals for improvement, and ensure they are providing the best possible care to their patients.

Overall, reflective writing in nursing is a powerful tool that empowers nurses to enhance their self-awareness, critical thinking skills, and empathy. By engaging in this practice, nurses can continuously improve their clinical practice, provide high-quality patient care, and contribute to the ongoing development of the nursing profession.

Nursing Reflective Essay Examples

Looking for inspiration for your nursing reflective essay? Here are some examples that showcase different experiences, reflections, and growth in the nursing profession.

These examples demonstrate how nursing reflective essays can provide valuable insights into personal experiences, reflections, and professional growth. They serve as excellent references to help nursing students develop their own reflective writing skills and gain a deeper understanding of the nursing profession.

Writing a Nursing Reflective Essay for Nursing School Application

A nursing reflective essay can be a powerful tool for nursing school applications. It allows applicants to showcase their self-awareness, critical thinking skills, and passion for the nursing profession. When writing a nursing reflective essay for a nursing school application, there are a few key tips to keep in mind.

Reflect on your passion for nursing

Start by reflecting on what drew you to the nursing profession and why you are passionate about it. Consider your personal experiences, such as volunteering or shadowing healthcare professionals, and how they have shaped your desire to become a nurse. Highlight your commitment to providing compassionate and quality patient care.

Share personal experiences in healthcare settings

Provide specific examples of your experiences in healthcare settings, such as clinical rotations or internships. Reflect on the challenges you faced, the lessons you learned, and how those experiences have impacted your growth and development as a future nurse. Discuss any significant interactions with patients, healthcare teams, or mentors that have shaped your understanding of the nursing profession.

Align with the nursing school’s values and mission

Research the nursing school’s values, mission, and educational philosophy. Ensure that your reflective essay aligns with these principles and demonstrates your commitment to the school’s mission. Use the nursing school’s prompts or essay questions as a guide to structure your essay and address the specific criteria they are looking for in applicants.

By following these tips, you can write a compelling nursing reflective essay that effectively conveys your passion for nursing, showcases your experiences, and aligns with the nursing school’s values. Remember to proofread your essay carefully for grammar and spelling errors and seek feedback from mentors or trusted individuals in the nursing profession to ensure your essay is clear, concise, and impactful.

(Table) Tips for Writing a Nursing Reflective Essay for Nursing School Application

Writing a nursing reflective essay can be a transformative experience for BSN nursing students. It allows them to gain valuable insight into their own growth and development as future healthcare professionals. Throughout this comprehensive guide, we have provided expert information and guidance on how to write a compelling nursing reflective essay.

By understanding the purpose of a reflective essay and the key elements to include, nursing students can effectively showcase their personal experiences and reflections. Incorporating reflection models such as Gibbs’ Reflective Model or Kolb Reflective Model can also provide structure and depth to their essays.

At NursingWriters.net, we are dedicated to empowering busy nurses and providing them with the tools they need to excel in their BSN programs. Whether it’s writing a reflective essay or any other writing challenge, we are here to support and guide nursing students towards success.

What is a nursing reflective essay?

A nursing reflective essay is a personal essay where the writer reflects on their own experiences and how those experiences have shaped their growth and development in the nursing profession.

How is a reflective essay in nursing different from a personal statement?

While a reflective essay in nursing focuses on the writer’s personal experiences and reflections, a personal statement is more of a formal document that highlights the writer’s qualifications, achievements, and future goals in the nursing profession.

What are the key elements to include in a nursing reflective essay?

The key elements to include in a nursing reflective essay are the inciting incident or event, personal reflections on the experience, specific details to create a vivid setting, and a description of the actions taken by the writer. It is important to avoid including academic details and excessive focus on emotions.

How should I write the introduction of a nursing reflective essay?

To write an engaging and informative introduction for a nursing reflective essay, you can grab the reader’s attention with an intriguing opening line, provide context and background information, and present a clear thesis statement. Focus on the specific event or experience that will be the main focus of the essay.

How should I structure the body paragraphs of a nursing reflective essay?

The body paragraphs of a nursing reflective essay should have a clear structure. Use the first paragraph to present the thesis statement and provide background information on the event. Use subsequent paragraphs to explore your reflections, emotions, and actions taken. Use specific examples and anecdotes to make the essay more engaging.

How should I conclude a nursing reflective essay?

To write a strong conclusion for a nursing reflective essay, you can summarize the main points discussed in the essay, provide a final reflection on your growth and learning from the experience, restate the thesis statement, and leave the reader with a thought-provoking statement or future outlook.

What are some tips for writing a nursing reflective essay?

Some tips for writing a nursing reflective essay include starting early, conducting thorough self-reflection, organizing your thoughts and ideas, and seeking feedback from peers or instructors. Pay attention to proper grammar and spelling, coherent writing style, and adhere to any formatting guidelines provided.

How can reflective tools and models help with nursing reflective essays?

Reflective tools and models provide structure and guidance for nursing students when writing reflective essays. Models such as Gibbs’ Reflective Model, Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Model, Kolb Reflective Model, and Schön Reflective Model can be used as frameworks for organizing thoughts and experiences in a nursing reflective essay.

What are the benefits of reflective writing in nursing?

Reflective writing in nursing offers benefits such as enhanced self-awareness, improved critical thinking skills, increased empathy and understanding of patient experiences, and continuous professional development. It promotes lifelong learning and helps improve patient care.

Where can I find nursing reflective essay examples?

You can find nursing reflective essay examples that showcase different experiences, reflections, and growth. These examples incorporate personal reflections, specific details, and professional insights into nursing practice. They demonstrate the diversity of topics and experiences that can be explored in nursing reflective essays.

How can I write a nursing reflective essay for nursing school applications?

To write a nursing reflective essay for nursing school applications, reflect on your passion for nursing, personal experiences in healthcare settings, and future goals in the nursing profession. Address specific prompts and align the content with the nursing school’s values and mission.

How can writing a nursing reflective essay benefit BSN nursing students?

Writing a nursing reflective essay allows BSN nursing students to gain insight into their own growth and development as future healthcare professionals. It helps improve critical thinking skills, self-awareness, and understanding of patient experiences. It also promotes continuous professional development.

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How to Write an Admission Essay for Nursing School

The nursing school admission process is rigorous. One of the critical requirements for new applicants is an application essay, and writing a compelling nursing essay will give you a major head start over other nursing school candidates.

Once you have figured out why you want to be a nurse, all your memories, accomplishments, ambitions, and goals will align. Therefore, writing an essay on why you are interested in becoming a nurse and selecting a specific nursing college or university allows the admissions team to understand why they should choose you over other candidates.

A well-written, organized, and polished nursing school essay automatically increases your chances of acceptance. With thousands of applications destined for assessment and judgment by the admissions committee, you would want to make your application essay for the nursing school admission stand out.

We have admission essay-writing experts and consultants who, luckily, have compiled this intensive guide to help you write an intentional, focused, and perfect essay for nursing school.

Note: If you are in a hurry or you need direct assistance in writing your nursing college essay, please place an order and let our expert essay writers craft for you an original, engaging, and compelling nursing essay!

What Is a Nursing School Essay?

A nursing school essay is a written piece that demonstrates your interest in a nursing career and elaborates why you are the perfect fit for a specific nursing program.

Most nursing schools (colleges and universities) require aspiring students to write an application essay for nursing school admission. It is a personal essay submitted as part of the application process, which the admission officers review to determine if you can be accepted.

A good nursing school essay shows your interest in the nursing field, your chosen career path, why you want to pursue your nursing education through a specific nursing school program, and why you believe you should be accepted into the institution. It has to show why the entire process is crucial to you and why you are a worthy candidate to select for the nursing school program.

Sometimes, it is the only hope one has left, especially if the competition is stiff. Imagine a situation where the application materials such as grades, resumes, test scores, or recommendation letters are all qualified; a nursing school essay will be the only means to select the best out of the rest fairly.

Writing a perfect nursing essay will demonstrate that you are ready to go down the thorny path of training to become a nurse. Nursing education entails research and writing assignments, and a well-written essay demonstrates your readiness.

Helpful Information to Include in a Nursing Admission Essay

You are probably wondering what goes into an application essay for nursing school admission. Well, your nursing essay will answer an essay prompt from the university. Most colleges will specify the essay questions for college of nursing applicants for various levels of study (MSN, DNP, BSN, Ph.D., or ADN).

Below are some examples of what might be expected:

• Your goals and ambitions for a successful nursing career
• How do you plan to achieve your academic goals
• The specific reasons why you want to join the nursing field
• Reasons you are selecting the particular nursing school or program
• Personal accomplishments that set you apart as the right candidate
• Experiences and encounters that make you love nursing career
• Plans for the future once accepted
• Experience with medical training or patient care
• Character traits aligned to being a nurse
• How you are prepared to become a successful nurse
• Academic, personal, and career interests
• Any other reasons to convince the admissions committee to approve your admission

In some quarters, a nursing school application essay might be a statement of purpose, personal essay, or letter of intent. It is a chance to plead with the admissions committee to accept you into your dream nursing college or program. Having looked at what goes into it, it is also essential to cover the steps to writing a perfect and comprehensive admission essay for nursing school.

Structure of a Nursing School Essay

A nursing essay for admission into a nursing program or school follows the typical format of an academic essay. It is organized into three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

• This is the opening paragraph that has to impress your readers (admissions officers)
• It can make or break your admission essay or personal statement
• It should be direct to the point
• It is a roadmap that helps the readers to know what to expect as your story grows.
• Open it using an enticing quote, event, anecdote, or statement
• You are allowed to use personal pronouns such as I in the introduction and the rest of the essay
• It has 2- 3 and sometimes five paragraphs
• Elaborates the introduction
• Every paragraph has a unique opening sentence that is a mini-thesis statement.
• Bears the best ideas yielded in your brainstorming session
• It can be as long as your word limit allows but contributes to at least 70-80% of the word count
• Focuses on quality over quantity
• Has one idea or experience per paragraph
• You should mention the skills you intend to develop and how they will help you become a successful nurse
• Connect the skills and experiences to the program and your future career
• Summarize and emphasize the main ideas
• It should be captivating and insightful
• Conveys a sense of closure to the readers
• Invites the readers to reflect on the ideas in your essay
• Creates one last lasting impression on the readers

Outline for a Nursing School Essay

A good nursing school essay outline should give you directions that help you visualize what the essay will look like in its final draft.

If you are writing a nursing essay, having the outline is the first thing you do after brainstorming (as shown in the steps).

It helps you to figure out how to arrange the ideas and points in the essay for a better flow. You can develop each section independently, regardless of the sequence, and still have a quality essay. 

In most cases, the outline is meant for personal consumption, especially when writing a personal statement. However, if you are writing a nursing essay on a given nursing topic , you might be required to write an outline, annotated bibliography , and the nursing essay , and each will be graded separately.

Given the structure, you can outline your nursing school essay as follows:

    Introduction paragraph

• Hook (quote, statement, or anecdote)
• Background information
• Thesis statement
• Transition sentence

    Body paragraph 1

• Topic sentence
• Evidence, data, and facts
• Transition to the second body paragraph

    Body paragraph 2

• Transition to the third body paragraph

    Body paragraph 3

• Transition to the conclusion

    Conclusion

• Summary of the main ideas
• Restate the thesis statement
• Last impression (call to action to the admissions committee)

Steps for Writing a Nursing School Essay

Optimizing your application essay increases your chance of getting accepted into the nursing program or nursing school. The essay should elaborate on your person (who you are as an individual) by providing a comprehensive perspective of your career ambitions, goals, and plans related to your passion for nursing. You should elaborate to the admissions committee why you are a good fit for their nursing program. Students at the ADN, BSN, ABSN (Accelerated BSN), MSN, DNP, or Ph.D. might be required to write an admission or personal essay, and here are the five steps to make it successful.

• Read the prompt
• Brainstorm for ideas
• Plan your essay
• Write the first draft
• Edit and Polish your Essay

Let's explore all these steps before delving into the tips to help you write the essay better.

Read the Prompt

If you are considering applying to a specific nursing school, you need to begin by researching the application process to know when you will be expected to submit your application essay.

In most cases, the nursing schools have essay prompts and instructions for the potential nursing candidates published on their websites. The prompts might vary depending on the programs you are interested in pursuing and the institutional preferences. Therefore, it is vital to begin by locating the nursing school essay guidelines. A quick search online can help, or you will also find it enclosed in the email sent to you by the school's admissions committee.

Read the instructions thoroughly with a specific focus on the essay question, word limit, and topics you must cover. If you apply to many nursing schools, you should locate and read each prompt before moving to the next steps.

Reading and understanding the instructions is the first step in writing an excellent application essay. Besides, it helps you to customize the essay to the requirements and not the other way around.

Brainstorm for Ideas

Now that you know what is expected of you, you need to decide what to include in your nursing essay to make it stand out. For this, get into an idea-generation marathon where you brainstorm ideas based on the prompt and the requirements.

Give every idea a thoughtful consideration and make shorthand notes so that you have all the ideas condensed. Consider your ambitions, accomplishments, drive, passion, preferences, strengths, weaknesses, character traits, and other attributes that might relate to your urge to pursue nursing as a career.

Also, research the nursing program and relate it to your personal ambitions and desires. Such information will help you spot the specific things you like about it. You can then tailor your experiences and encounters to the requirements. Look at the program's website and examine 2-3 aspects that stand out. This will help you focus on what you have that makes you the best pick for the program. You can also reference experiences, events, or traits related to the program.

Consider the environment and people around you and relate them to your desire to become a nurse.

Experiences, encounters, and events can inspire ideas to pen into your nursing school essay.

You can also research some well-written examples of nursing personal statements and essays to get inspired when brainstorming ideas for yours. Besides, you can also ask people in your network, such as family, friends, or peers, for ideas that can stand out and then choose the best.

To get the most robust ideas, rate them depending on how best they answer the prompt; this is the fodder for the entire application essay. Choose 3-5 strongest points and make them the central focus of your essay.

Plan your Essay

As a nurse, planning is everything, even when it comes to clinical decision-making. And because you are destined for this noble career, planning your personal essay won't hurt. Instead, it helps you know what to put and where to engage the admission officers from the beginning to the end of your nursing school essay.

With the ideas in mind, create a rough outline and adjust it until you are fully satisfied that your thoughts, facts, and opinions are well-organized. The outline will help you to structure your essay, avoid derailing it, and write a draft that bears all the quality ideas.

A good step is to organize the essay into paragraphs that align with the word count (often given as the minimum or maximum number of words, exact number of words, or characters).

Include an introduction to give your readers a clear understanding of the focus of your essay. Yes, a good nursing essay has a thesis statement that shows your central claim or the main idea you are focusing on the entire essay.

You should include the body paragraphs, each with a topic sentence supporting the thesis and a series of supporting facts such as examples, evidence, and illustration.

Finally, include a conclusion as the last paragraph that reverberates the thesis, summarizes the essay, and has a call to action to the admissions committee.

Write the First Draft

After the outline, you must begin writing your essay sentence by sentence and paragraph after paragraph. Whatever approach you take, ensure that every detail covered in the outline ends up in your essay as long as it is valid.

Write the introduction paragraph by giving a hook or attention grabber. You can begin with a quote from a famous nurse or a scholarly nursing article. You can also state facts or give statistics if they matter to your application. You should also elaborate on your selected topic, especially if the prompt provides options. End your first paragraph with a thesis statement that describes the focus of your nursing school essay. The introduction should account for 10-15% of the word count.

Each body paragraph has a unique, unmistakable, and concise topic sentence followed by supporting details and a concluding sentence that transitions to the next paragraph. Ensure that you have at least two body paragraphs considering that you can write either a three-paragraph or a five-paragraph nursing essay. Collectively, the body section should be 70-80% of the essay's word count. The body paragraphs should outline your encounters, experiences, and events and how they relate to the specific nursing program.

The final part is the conclusion, where you summarize the main ideas in the essay. for this, avoid the clich� conclusion starters such as "in conclusion," "to sum up," or "in summary." Instead, use conclusion opening sentences that demonstrate to your reader that the essay has ended � it gives the best closure and helps close the information loop in your essay. Rephrase your thesis and summarize the main ideas before appealing to the admissions committee to accept you into their nursing program. It should be 10-15% of the word count, like the introduction paragraph.

Edit and Polish the Essay

Now that you are done with your first draft, it is only the beginning, and you are far from being done. You need to take a break to cool down your frustrations, anxiety, and adrenaline developed when writing. It is a chance to establish an objective mind to look at things from a broader perspective when you settle for editing and proofreading.

If you are not good with editing and proofreading, you can hire a professional proofreading and editing expert to look at your essay and suggest changes to make. You can also use friends and family as a second and third eye to see what you cannot see. Using their feedback will help you optimize the essay for better results. You can incorporate the suggestions and proceed to editing and proofreading.

As for editing and proofreading, you can take advantage of tools such as Grammarly, Ginger, Hemingway Editor, and other editing and proofreading tools available by students and professionals. Revise the essay until it meets the requirements and addresses the prompt. If anything, do not be afraid to do away with an entire paragraph or a few paragraphs that don't make sense.

It is better to start over again than submit a subpar nursing school essay that will be a laughingstock of the admissions committee. The only way to entertain the admissions officers is to write an outstanding nursing school essay that will automatically dial you into the nursing program of your choice. Best of luck!

Example of Nursing School Essay Prompts

• Discuss your interest and understanding of the clinical nurse leader role. What's your story? And what experiences have contributed to your interest?
• The DNP program aims to prepare nurse leaders at the highest level of nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and translate research into practice. Describe experiences that exhibit your formal leadership role or informal leadership skills.
• How will the program help you achieve your academic and career goals?
• What experiences have influenced your interest in pursuing a clinical specialty you have chosen?
• The DNP program aims to prepare nurse leaders at the highest level of nursing practice to improve patient outcomes and translate research into practice. Describe experiences that exhibit your leadership skills.
• Why have you chosen to pursue a nursing research doctorate?
• How does becoming a nurse fulfill your ambitions?
• What does becoming a nurse mean to you?
• What drives you to become a nurse?
• Why do you want to become a nurse?
• What is your nursing philosophy?
• What was your reason for choosing nursing as a career? Do you have any additional information that you would like the admissions committee to know about you that has not been previously considered in the application?
• What are your professional goals? How will this accelerated nursing program help you materialize those goals?
• Discuss a specific leadership position (e.g., manager, director, associate dean) you wish to attain within three to five years after completing the DNP program.

Note: Some of these prompts have been rephrased from the Rush University Website . They keep changing depending on the preferences of the admissions committee. Inquire with your university or college of nursing to get specific directions on the most current prompts and instructions.

Related Reading: Ideas for a nursing capstone project.

Tips for Writing an Effective Nursing School Admission Essay

When grades, test scores, and other material entries don't count , a nursing school essay, referred to as a personal statement, suffices. In this case, a great nursing school can only be your hope for getting into nursing school. If you want to get ahead of the competition, these proven tips will significantly help you.

1. Plan Well

To pen an excellent nursing school essay that gets you accepted, you need to plan the essay.

Read the instructions, brainstorm as you take notes, research widely, and create an outline.

And even when done, the purpose is to have a reverse outline to help you score the essay against the requirements. Planning helps you to know what attention-grabbing statement to begin the essay with, the sequence of the body paragraph ideas for a logical flow, and what specifics to include in the conclusion.

Having an outline will help you save time when writing the first draft and help you to stay focused when writing.

2. Show, Don't Tell!

All effective nursing school essays express your personality, experiences, and encounters while convincing the admissions officers that you are the best fit for the program.

You should not focus on telling your story alone. Instead, show how your account relates to the prompt.

Discuss experiences, encounters, and events but show how they have impacted your choice of the program and desire to become a nurse.

If you are applying to a specific program, enlighten your readers on why you are specifically interested in the program and what that means.

It could be the hybrid learning model that entails both online and classroom learning or the history or reputation the school has, parental preferences (if they were a graduate), mentor recommendation, etc.

3. Choose Information Wisely

Ensure that every idea or information in your essay is unique, authentic, and original. Don't just write fictitiously.

If you have no past experiences directly related to nursing, you can introduce them and twist them to fit the context.

Impress the admissions committee with your wits, not just a summary of what others have written online.

Standing out in your presentation of facts will always carry the day. Genuinely share your story about what made you want to become a nurse.

4. Avoid Excuses

Even if you don't have appealing past encounters with medicine, hospitals, or anything related to nursing, tell your story as it is.

Do not excuse yourself for telling the truth. After all, you are on your journey to becoming a nurse; all you are seeking is training to develop the knowledge and skills.

If you have cared for your family members at home, babysat your siblings, or have compassion for the suffering, these are the most authentic stories you have, and they can spell meaning on your ambition. Therefore, prove your strong candidature by stating things as they are without clutching at things that do not matter.

5. Let it Flow!

Instead of forcing things such as humor or stories, write plainly about your experiences, encounters, and past events that made you want to become a nurse.

Most "why I want to be a nurse" essays don't have to have any humor. If it clicks well and is good, if it doesn't, don't force it.

As well, avoid exaggerating things when writing your nursing school essay. You should focus on making it as interesting, engaging, and convincing as can be but be truthful.

Avoid mixing up stories. A good way is to focus each paragraph on the main point that relates to your thesis.

6. Show you care about People and Yourself

Nursing is a noble career that entails caring for oneself as you care for others. Your full-time attention and job will be to care for people to help them achieve better health outcomes.

You must show empathy, selflessness, and determination to be a nurse. You can bring examples of when you took care of others and yourself.

Let the committee know that even when training as a nurse, you understand self-care as much as you understand caring for others.

7. Bring in Current Issues

If there is a chance that you can introduce nursing concepts or ideas from current events, it will beef up your nursing school essays.

Get facts from well-established nursing organization websites such as the American Nurses Association, National League of Nursing, Emergency Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, or National Black Nurses Association, etc.

Intrigue your readers by understanding the challenges and opportunities in the nursing field.

You can relate your application to nursing shortages, medical errors, nursing burnout, continuing education, evidence-based practice, etc.

8. Briefly Explain your Qualifications

Since you have already provided material such as transcripts, resumes, and test scores, it is imperative to briefly expound on the qualifications without going into details. Tell them about your experiences, your education, and how you have set yourself up for success in nursing school . For instance, elaborate on how volunteering and internships helped you develop a sense of becoming a nurse or how they developed skills you will apply in nursing school.

9. Share your plans

Everybody has plans. You have short, medium, and long-term goals as you prepare to enter nursing school. You should include them in your essay and demonstrate how the program or school will help you achieve them. Admission officers are always wowed by hearing about goals, especially if they relate to their schools or programs. As you do this, be very specific with the goals and how you intend to achieve them.

All set, but before You Go �

As you contemplate entering nursing school, you must understand that it will never be a walk in the park. There is so much to learn within the specified time frame, and you must show your preparedness. A nursing school personal essay is one of the ways to do so.

Related Article:

• Writing a nursing philosophy ( a student's guide)
• Writing a nursing student resume (a guide)

Lucky for you, our nursing admission essay writers have shared insights, tips, and steps that can help you write an exceptional application essay for any nursing school or program. If you follow them, you will write a seamless admission essay that increases your chances of getting into the nursing school of your dreams.

We wish you luck in your endeavors and promise that were available in case you need a well-written, organized, and plagiarism-free admission essay tailored to your experiences and the specific nursing school or program requirements.

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Lessons from My First Semester in Nursing School

Nursing is a challenging yet incredibly rewarding career. The first challenge? Getting through nursing school. Current student Janet Chan shares her insights after her first semester as a nursing student.

BY JANET CHAN, TRADITIONAL BS IN NURSING STUDENT | NOVEMBER 19, 2018

When I was accepted to nursing school, I had a rush of emotions, ranging from excited to downright terrified. It was what I wanted my whole life, yet I knew it would be a hard journey – I knew that I had to make changes to myself: my work ethic, my whole way of thinking.

I asked friends and former nursing students about their experiences and what I should do to prepare – the universal answer was priority . The transition from taking prerequisites with a large class size to a close knit lecture with only 70 students is a major change, but an even bigger change is the workload that comes with nursing school; before you know it you’ll be swamped with projects, textbook readings, and extracurricular activities, all due one after the other. All of a sudden the strategies employed for studying in a standard undergraduate program is no longer adequate – it all comes down to prioritizing.  

Planning (Ahead) for Success

My secret weapon to prioritizing is my planner. This is a generic sounding piece of advice, and yet it has helped me immensely. I look over any syllabi or handouts that professors provide before the semester starts to ensure I know exactly when things are due; I then create a plan of attack for all the exams, assignments and projects. This gives me a physical and mental calendar, a reminder of every assignment to ensure I don’t miss one.

Being on top of the workload is essential, as it quickly accumulates throughout the school year.

The final touch is a daily schedule and daily reminders on my phone so I know how much time I need to dedicate to studying. My daily schedule consists of when I wake up, what classes I have throughout the day, what time I have to study, and when I should go to sleep. A great app that I’m using, Momentum, can also be added as an extension to Google Chrome.

When I break down my days, I try to plan them out at least two days in advance so that I have leeway for any unexpected events that might occur. Nursing school is a carnival; you want to go on all the rides, and yet there are only so many hours in the day. By planning out your day and prioritizing, you can get the most out of your experience.

The most valuable thing I learned so far as a nursing student is you have to know which coursework needs your attention first and which tasks can be done later so that you are working efficiently.

Challenge(s) Accepted.

The undergraduate nursing program not only requires your undivided attention, but also requires you to be prepared both mentally and emotionally for the various challenges that come with nursing school.

The summer before class started, I worked in a retail job simply to earn an income, but working retail had given much more: the experience of working with others from different backgrounds taught me valuable skills in multitasking and professional communication. As a nursing student, you will have to balance a plethora of tasks while regularly working with others.

Another challenge is dealing with those moments when you feel overwhelmed. It is important to find a stress reliever. I relieve my stress by meditating – if there is a break in my schedule, I take a 10 minute meditation session by closing my eyes, focusing on breathing and finding my quiet space. This helps me recollect myself and helps me shut out outside distractions. Of course, everyone has their own version of stress relief – it can be as simple as going for a short walk around the library, stretching in your seat or even taking a snack break. It is important to discipline yourself, timing yourself appropriately for these breaks.

Self-discipline is another strength that helps me through the challenges of the coursework. It really just comes with experience: it’s another essential for nursing school that you will have to learn on the way.

My first exam in nursing school was a bit of a rude awakening for me – I had always thought myself to be well disciplined, yet the exam showed me how far I had yet to go.

I went through the motions for studying that I had honed for four years through my undergraduate psychology program. After this particular exam, I realized that I had to change my ways. The next time, I forced myself to start my study sheet and notes the same day that a new topic was introduced; I also made sure that I understood previous lectures before moving on to the new ones, and the results definitely showed for my next exam. This helped me realize just how important it was to remain focused and undistracted when I am studying or doing assignments. I began to work free of distractions – studying alone, with my phone turned off. When I study with friends, I try to ensure that we minimize distractions and work together to understand the materials; it helps to organize small study groups who are focused on the work and willing to help each other out.

Onward and Upward!

Nursing school, for all the challenges it provides, will still be an amazing time in your life where you not only learn essential skills, but also meet wonderful people who will push you to be the best. Be confident and don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes, just make sure you learn from them. UB Nursing is a one-of-a-kind program and when you start adjusting to the madness, it feels like home. Your professors are your best resources; they are well versed in their profession, and their experience is your key to success.

Take initiative and attend the programs or volunteer opportunities that the school has to offer – just remember how to prioritize! I hope that this post gives you a glance of what nursing school really is, a chaotic, wonderful adventure towards our shared goal of helping people.

With that, I will leave you with this quote by educator, author and businessman Stephen Covey: “The key is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

UB School of Nursing welcomes comments from readers. Please submit your comments in the box below.

I appreciate this essay written by Janet Chan. As a traditional student myself, I agree prioritization is a key factor to success in nursing school. This essay has provided me with useful strategies to use while finishing my first semester in Nursing. Thank you for posting this essay.  

Thanks for sharing. In my opinion, one part that is key in the process of being successful in nursing school, is the program and instructors as well. I attended an ABSN at Concordia College of NY and it was a terrible experience. Choosing the right school and a program that caters and cares about their students makes this rough path less stressful. I would love to read about your experience with your instructors and programs rules. Have a great second semester! 

Nursing Student Clinical Experience: Navigating the Path

This essay will explore the clinical experiences of nursing students, discussing the challenges and learning opportunities they encounter. It will cover aspects such as hands-on patient care, working in healthcare teams, and applying theoretical knowledge in practical settings. The piece will also discuss the importance of these experiences in preparing students for a nursing career. Moreover, at PapersOwl, there are additional free essay samples connected to Health Care.

How it works

• 1 Starting the Day: First Clinical Experience
• 2 Handling Emotions and Ensuring Patient Safety
• 3.1 Works Cited

Starting the Day: First Clinical Experience

My first clinical experience was on November 12, 2018, at the hospital (Regional Medical Center). I was overly avid and nervous at the time. I was there at 6:00 AM, wearing my white uniform, and was ready to start.

First of all, I washed my hand and completed my paperwork. I was assigned to a male patient who was in room 14. So, I went to my night nurse (Angel) to get the handoff report. In addition, I went to my patient’s room, introduced myself, and identified him by using his name and date of birth to make sure that I had the right patient.

I told my patient that I’d be giving him a bed bath, and he refused and said, “My wife will give me a bed bath. Thanks.” I was so anxious during that time because I couldn’t force them to do so and couldn’t go without completing my assignment. Thus, I let my instructor know about the issue. I was present almost all the time in my patient’s room, so he could know me better. I felt a very personal connection between my patient and me, and I think that my experience in class helped me to give both him and his wife the care and empathy that they deserved.

Handling Emotions and Ensuring Patient Safety

Obviously, working in the healthcare setting entailed a huge amount of self-control and repression for the nurses to provide nursing care to the patient without including his/her own emotions. I helped my patient to eat his breakfast, and 30 min later, I took his vital signs (RR, T, P, BP, SpO2, and pain). Safety and competency were a priority during clinical hours. I unintentionally left my side rails down with a patient at high risk of falls. Then started giving him his bed bath with his wife’s assistance. My patient was sweet and awesome and was effectively communicating with me. Thus, this increased my confidence and my knowledge. After completing my bed bath, I documented the I/O and VS and reported them to my instructor.

Conclusion: Reflections and Lessons Learned

Finally, attending the first clinical day allowed me to improve my practice in the healthcare setting. The patient and his family made a great impression on me and my profession as a student nurse because it authorized me to utilize my skills and gain new job experiences. In reflection on this patient’s care, I now realize my personal participation in the case is a benefit rather than an impediment.

Works Cited

• Benner, P. (2001). From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice. Prentice Hall.
• Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and Management for Nurses: Core Competencies for Quality Care (3rd ed.). Pearson.

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How to write a personal statement for nursing school.

Reviewed by:

Jonathan Preminger

Former Admissions Committee Member, Hofstra-Northwell School of Medicine

Reviewed: 6/19/23

Writing a personal statement for nursing school can be a daunting task, but we’re here to help! Here’s everything you need to know about writing a personal statement for nursing school.

Writing your personal statement is a nerve-wracking experience, no matter what program you’re applying for . You may be wondering: “what are nursing schools looking for in a personal statement?” or, “how can I make my personal statement for nursing school stand out?” Lucky for you, we’ve got some answers. 

Here we’ll cover everything you need to know about writing a personal statement for nursing school. We’ve included a breakdown of the components to include, examples of nursing school personal statements, and tips to improve your own. 

Let’s get started!

Get The Ultimate Guide on Writing an Unforgettable Personal Statement

What Is a Nursing School Personal Statement?

When applying to nursing schools , you’ll most likely notice that most applications require a personal statement. A personal statement is a short essay, typically no longer than two pages, that tells your target schools a little bit about who you are. 

Each school has different expectations for the length and contents of your personal statement, so make sure to check the specific requirements of your target schools. Some common topics include your personal goals for nursing school and why you want to become a nurse.

Nursing School Personal Statement Format

Before writing your personal statement for nursing school, you should plan out what you want to include. If your school does not ask you to answer a specific question with your essay, here is a list of what you should include in your nursing school personal statement.

An Introduction

The introductory paragraph should focus on what brought you to this point. Your school primarily wants to get to know you as a candidate through your personal statement. Your intro should include things like:

• How you first became interested in nursing
• What inspires you about becoming a nurse
• What you intend to achieve through a nursing degree

In this paragraph, your main goal is to introduce yourself and give the admissions committee a bit of background on your passion for nursing. Perhaps you have a family member who inspired you to pursue nursing, you grew up near a hospital, or you’ve struggled with health issues yourself - these are all great examples of an origin story. 

Think to yourself: “If my journey into nursing school was a movie, how would it begin?”

Body Paragraph(s)

In the body paragraph(s) of your nursing school personal statement, you can include a bit about your achievements. However, this isn’t the place to simply list your achievements. 

Think about how your experiences helped you to develop skills for nursing school . Include things like:

• How you’ve furthered your interest in nursing through experience (both in and out of school)
• How your achievements make you a good fit for the program
• Specific things about the program that interests you

The body portion of your essay should contain the majority of the information you want to include. Make sure to only include accomplishments if they help to explain how you’ll contribute to the program. Your CV will list any other achievements that don’t come into play here.

A Strong Conclusion

Your personal statement should end on a positive note. Think about summarizing your statement by looking toward the future. Include things like:

• Your future ambitions following nursing school
• What you’ll be able to contribute to the program 

The end of your body paragraph(s) should mention what you hope to achieve in the future with your nursing degree and lead into your conclusion. The final sentences of your personal statement should further state your passion for your program and how you’ll be a great fit at your target school. 

What Not to Write in a Personal Statement for Nursing School

Before getting into our tips and examples, let’s go over what not to include in your personal statement for nursing school. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when crafting your personal statement. 

Keep it Simple

Your personal statement should be authentic and genuine, but make sure to keep the brief in mind while you’re writing. As mentioned above, a personal statement is typically no longer than two pages in length. 

You should absolutely include some personal anecdotes; in fact, we encourage it! Just make sure to stick to the relevant parts of your story and not to elaborate too much on areas that are not relevant to your application. 

Do Not Reiterate Your CV

Your personal statement is an essay, not a resume. Keep in mind that your application already contains all of your achievements on your CV, transcripts, and other application materials. 

Your personal statement is about understanding your passion and motivations. You can use examples from your CV to further assert your interest in the program, but only if you can elaborate on how they’ve specifically helped you on your journey to nursing school. 

Tips for Writing a Stellar Nursing Personal Statement

Let’s go over a few tips on how you can improve your personal statement. Using these tips can help to make your personal statement and essays for your nursing school application stand out while remaining authentic and genuine. 

Create A Timeline

When writing your personal statement, your focus should be on telling your story. Creating a clear timeline of events can help to effectively tell the story of how you decided to apply for nursing. 

Start with how you became interested in nursing, develop your story with experiences that have cultivated your knowledge, and conclude by talking about your program and your future goals. A timeline will make your essay easy to read and give the admissions committee a good idea of your journey so far.

Stick To the Brief

If your target school(s) give you a specific prompt for your personal statement, make sure to refer back to the prompt while writing your essay to ensure you’re staying on track. 

For example, if your prompt asks you a question, be sure to answer the question at the beginning, the end, and throughout your essay. Your personal statement shouldn’t be vague or veer too far off course. 

Speak From the Heart

It is crucial in your nursing personal statement to share what makes you unique . This is your chance to show the admissions committee why you’d be a perfect fit in their program and demonstrate what you bring to the table. 

Include genuine experiences that have pushed you toward nursing throughout your life. Conveying your passions and motivations is critical in your personal statement for nursing school.

Do Your Research 

One great way to make your nursing personal statement stand out is to do thorough research on your program and include it in your piece. Showing your passion for the specific program. you’re applying to can give you an edge over others and impress the admissions committee. 

When you include your research, be sure to add it organically into your writing. Use your research as a way to connect your personal experiences to the program rather than simply listing information.

Nursing School Personal Statement Examples

Here are two nursing personal statement examples that were written successfully. We’ve also included explanations of how they are good examples to help you improve your own personal statement. 

*Important note: Do not use our samples in your nursing school application. These examples are meant to serve as a guide when crafting your own original personal statement for nursing school. 

Example #1: Indeed ’s Nursing School Personal Statement Sample

“I walked backward down the hill, my arms supporting the weight of the wheelchair as its wheels rolled slowly in reverse. Sunlight danced through the trees around us and shone in my grandmother's hair as she sat inside the wheelchair. I couldn't see my grandmother's face from that angle, but I could hear her laughing with joy as she enjoyed the outdoors for the first time in weeks. My grandmother came to live with my family two years ago after breaking her hip. Although she completed much of her recovery at our home, Nurse George came by every day to perform my grandmother's personal care tasks, monitor her vital signs and assist with her physical therapy exercises. George also taught me some basic patient care practices, such as how to support a wheelchair correctly while going downhill. I had never considered a career in nursing before, but George helped me see the rewards of helping people with their medical conditions and injuries. I am excited by this opportunity to apply to Fern Hill's College of Nursing because I appreciate your program's specialization in rehabilitation nursing. Being a part of my grandmother's recovery team has inspired me to pursue a nursing career that helps patients recover from injuries or medical conditions. I believe that your school's emphasis on assisting patients in regaining their independent skills can help me achieve these professional aspirations. Since realizing that I want to become a nurse, I have become a regular volunteer at Jefferson Rehabilitation Center. I mentor young people struggling with drug addictions and provide childcare for the children of rehabilitation patients. There is no feeling comparable to when a mentee or outgoing patient offers you a sincere "thank you." I can no longer imagine pursuing a career where I do not get to help people overcome their challenges and navigate their way to recovery. My experiences helping my grandmother and patients at Jefferson have taught me the value of empathy and communication. Frequently, my mentees simply want someone to listen to them. I do my best to give them a judgment-free space in which to share their stories. Whether the medical issue is emotional or physical, patients appreciate working with flexible and considerate people. I believe I embody these qualities by actively listening and letting patients talk at their own pace. I am ready to pursue a nursing career and learn about helping patients in a more professional and technical capacity. Fern Hill's College of Nursing is the ideal place to prepare for my future nursing career.”

Why this is a good example: In this example, the writer has done an excellent job of telling the story of how they became interested in nursing. They also develop a clear timeline of events from when they first thought about nursing to how they began developing their skills through volunteering. 

Most importantly, the candidate mentions specific reasons why they’re interested in the program and how they feel they can contribute to the school and field. 

Example #2: Johns Hopkins University Nursing Personal Statement Sample

“I grew up close to a hospital, where I watched patients go through the double doors for a variety of ailments. From a young age, this drove me to develop a strong interest in the field of medicine. I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the future that would allow me to take care of those in need. Through my courses in the natural sciences as well as social studies, I have continued to develop my knowledge in the field in order to be ready to continue my education. Now, I am ready to take the next step in my education by applying for the Nursing program at Johns Hopkins University.  Three years ago I completed a nursing shadowing internship that opened my eyes to many of the daily struggles of being a nurse. During my time in the clinic and on the wards, I had the opportunity to work In the critical care and trauma ward as well as In obstetrics and geriatrics. These various experiences showed me the diverse role that nurses play in a healthcare setting, and emphasized the importance of empathy and dedication to patient care.  Johns Hopkins University Is known worldwide for its focus on patient wellness and medical research. As a nursing student at Hopkins, I hope to not only further the institution's goal of providing exceptional patient care, but also to assist with the many clinical trials ongoing at the hospital that pave the way for new treatments. Through hands-on training with knowledgeable staff, I know that I will be able to make the most of my nursing training at Johns Hopkins and become a nursing professional that is capable of enhancing patient wellness in a healthcare setting.”

Why this is a good example: In this example, the writer develops a clear timeline and clearly defines their relevant information. The writer covers when they first became interested in nursing, courses they’ve taken, and what experiences have made them get serious about the profession. 

Finally, they include why they are specifically interested in the program at Johns Hopkins and conclude by adding what they will add to the program as a student.

FAQs: How to Write a Personal Statement for Nursing School

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about nursing school personal statements. 

1. Do All Nursing Schools Require A Personal Statement?

Almost all nursing schools require a personal statement, which can typically be described as a short essay (2 pages or less) that explains who you are and why you want to attend the school’s nursing program.

2. Is a Personal Statement for Nursing School an Essay?

Yes, a personal statement is a short essay that briefly describes your past, present, and future experiences in relation to nursing.

3. How Long Should A Nursing Personal Statement Be?

Each nursing school has different length requirements, which can typically be found in the prompt. If no length is specified, two pages or less is recommended. 

4. What Should I Include In My Nursing School Personal Statement?

Your nursing personal statement should include:

• Why you want to become a nurse
• What inspires you about nursing
• Elaborate on the experiences you’ve had that have taught you about nursing
• Program-specific reasons for your interest in the school
• How you intend to contribute to the program and the field of nursing

If your school’s personal statement asks a specific question, that question should be answered throughout your essay. 

5. Does Nursing Require Essays?

Yes, most nursing program applications require personal statement essays, and some require secondary (or supplemental) essays as well.

6. When Should I Write My Personal Statement for Nursing School?

You should begin writing your personal statement(s) for nursing school as soon as you receive the prompt. Make sure to give yourself an adequate amount of time to complete all sections of your application before the deadline.

7. How do you Start a Personal Statement for Nursing School?

To start a compelling nursing personal statement, there are a few different writing techniques you can use. You can start by introducing yourself, start by talking about how you became interested in nursing, or you can start “in the action” by cutting right into your story. 

Final Thoughts

Your personal statement for nursing school should be genuine, heartfelt, and express how you will make an excellent addition to your target school’s nursing program through a series of examples. 

Each personal statement you write should be adjusted to suit the individual program you are applying for. Sending a general personal statement with every application you submit is impersonal and not recommended. Make sure to follow your brief closely and map out your essay before writing it to ensure you include all of the relevant information. 

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• Open access
• Published: 06 August 2022

Undergraduate nursing students’ experiences of becoming a professional nurse: a longitudinal study

• Susanne Lundell Rudberg 1 , 2 ,
• Margareta Westerbotn 3 , 4 ,
• Taina Sormunen 2 ,
• Max Scheja 5 &
• Hanna Lachmann 1  

BMC Nursing volume  21 , Article number:  219 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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During education it is essential for nursing students to develop professionalism in nursing. Nurses are placed in situations based on trust, and it is crucial that their patients have confidence in them to provide professional and safe care. A key period in nursing students’ development of a professionalism occurs during training when students gain knowledge and skills that separate nurses as professional healthcare workers from laypeople. The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing students’ experiences of professional competence development during education.

A longitudinal study was carried out using qualitative content analysis with a manifest inductive approach. Thirty-four students enrolled in a Swedish three-year nursing program, from August 2015 to January 2017 were interviewed on four occasions.

The results revealed that students’ professional role developed gradually. The students’ started their education with dreams and a naive understanding of the profession, but their understanding of the complexity of the nursing profession gradually evolved. Students became theoretically equipped at the university and developed clinical skills through practice. Students’ focus went from mastering medical technology to a more holistic approach. Before graduating, students felt ready but not fully trained.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate a discrepancy between the content of the theoretical education and the clinical settings since students identified a lack of evidence-based practice. A solid theoretical education before entering clinical training offered students possibilities for reflecting on evidence-based practice and the clinical settings. The realization that there is always potential for professional improvement can be interpreted as an emerging awareness, and development of professionalism. It is clear that students could benefit from increased collaborative work between clinical supervisors and faculty staff at the university.

Peer Review reports

It is essential to maintain professionalism in the nursing profession [ 1 ]. Nurses are placed in situations based on trust, and it is crucial that the persons depending on these professionals have confidence in them to provide professional and safe care [ 1 ]. A key period in nursing students’ development of a professionalism occurs during training when they gain knowledge and skills that separate nurses as professional healthcare workers from laypeople [ 2 ]. However, there is limited theoretical knowledge of the aspects that constitute and drive the development of nursing students’ professional competence.

Professionalism and competence

The term ‘professionalism’ is used globally to describe professions with a nonspecific focus. There is no simple, generalizable definition of the multidimensional concept of professionalism, or a simple way of assessing it [ 3 ]. When applied to nursing, professionalism is associated with behaviors such as a belief in public service, autonomy and self-regulation, and a sense of vocation [ 1 ]. So the concept of professionalism is complex and maintaining professionalism is essential in the nursing profession [ 3 ]. Apart from being time specific and related to specific contexts, nursing students’ competencies, domains and levels vary by professional assignment, description, and country [ 4 ]. The governance of nursing education varies globally, and is controlled by national regulations [ 5 ]. It has become common to use a holistic view in defining nurse competencies, including behavior statements reflecting the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and judgments required for effective performance in the nursing profession [ 6 , 7 ]. Professionalism in healthcare is associated with a wide range of benefits, for example staff displaying higher levels of professional attitudes also seem to behave more professionally [ 8 ], and increased safety for patients [ 9 ]. To integrate quality into nursing education a framework has been developed comprising six nurse core competencies; person-centered care, evidence-based practice, teamwork and collaboration, safety, quality improvement and informatics [ 10 ].

Nursing students’ journey towards professionalism

Dr Benner describes the concept of professional development in the nursing profession as evolving from novice to expert in five stages: novice, advanced beginner, competent proficient and expert [ 11 ]. In health care, the learning process, and also the socialization to develop a professional identity, have often meant adopting standards and norms of the professional group [ 12 , 13 ]. Nursing students are socialized towards professionalism during training, being required to integrate the attributes of professionalism in their routine practice [ 1 ]. Students are motivated to learn when they feel included in the clinical environment, while experiences of exclusion and lack of belonging influences negatively on motivation to learn [ 14 ]. Deliktas et al. [ 15 ] found that undergraduate nursing students’ approach to the nursing profession is associated with humanism, also identified as conscience, coupled with an ambition to touch people’s lives. It requires great effort from the students together with substantial support from teachers and supervisors to develop a comfortable professional identity upon graduation [ 16 ]. Students’ journey to becoming an RN has been investigated previously [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. However, longitudinal studies of students’ experiences of professional development throughout the whole education are scarce.

The present study aimed at investigating nursing students’ experiences of professional competence development during education.

This study applied a descriptive longitudinal design involving qualitative content analysis with a manifest inductive approach.

Settings and participants

Thirty-four students enrolled in a Swedish three-year nursing program, starting from August 2015 to January 2017, were followed longitudinally. The group comprised 28 women and six men, a distribution coherent with national statistics of students in health care in HE [ 21 ]. In respect of age, students ranged from 20 to 51 on enrolment. Fourteen students had previously attended HE, and ten had completed a university degree in another subject. Twelve reported living in a single household and eight had children of their own, whilst ten students shared a household with up to three children.

Data collection

A purpose sampling technique was used. During the first week of education, all students enrolled were invited to participate. Information about the purpose of the study was given orally after an introductory lecture and in writing on the university’s learning platform. Students were also informed about whom to contact if they had questions prior to the interviews. Students who signed a written informed consent were invited on four occasions (Fig.  1 ) to individual, semi-structured interviews carried out in an undisturbed conference room at the university. A total of thirty-four students participated in all interviews. A semistructured interview guide was designed to capture students’ ongoing professional development, including questions about their views of nurse core competencies at interviews two, three and four, ( supplementary file ). All four interviews were carried out by the first author and lasted five to 40 min. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim [ 22 , 23 ].

Overview of methods including generic categories, main categories, and overarching themes

The study was approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board, Stockholm (Registration no: 2015/894–31/5).

Data analysis

The interview transcripts were read several times making sense of the data as whole [ 24 ] and then analyzed using qualitative content analysis with a manifest inductive approach [ 25 , 26 ]. Data were divided into four chronological data sets, interviews 1–4. Each dataset was read again when conducting open coding, using NVivo software [ 27 ]. Identified codes were grouped into sub-categories labelled with a phrase that described the meaning content. Sub-categories were grouped by contextual meaning resulting in 19 generic categories. From this categorization, an abstraction was derived describing one main category of students’ experiences from each interview [ 28 ], Fig.  1 .

Individual patterns were analyzed to identify and validate shared patterns [ 29 ], Table 1 .

Finally, an overarching main theme of professional development was abstracted from the main categories and shared patterns, Table 2 . To ensure trustworthiness data was discussed among the authors in every step of the analysis until consensus was reached [ 22 ]

One main category was created from interviews performed at the same semester. Results are presented as four main categories: ‘Anticipation’; ‘Prepared for internship’; ‘Deepened understanding; ‘Insight’ with associated generic themes, summarized in the overarching theme: ‘Ready but not fully trained’, Fig.  1 .

Anticipation

In the first interview students expressed their conceptions, expectations and doubts regarding both education and the nursing profession.

Make a difference

Students voiced a desire to make a difference, to contribute to society, change structures, and help people. They also voiced expectations of receiving tools to deal with real-life problems and change the world for the better. For some students, this desire to make a difference had meant choosing to end a prosperous career in another field.

“I have expectations that you should be able to contribute something every day, to feel needed and important, an important cog in the wheel” (Student no 30).

Students also emphasized they were proud to become nurses and the profession was perceived depicted as incorporating aspects of emotionally rewarding personal development. Employment security was also underscored expressing beliefs that there will always be a need for RNs to help the sick and injured.

“I am going to have an occupation I’m proud of, when people ask what I do for a living I want to say that I am a nurse and it is the best job in the entire world, that is the strongest anticipation” (Student no 31).

Self-confidence

The students presented a picture of being aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, and expressed a belief in their personal capacity, looking forward to the challenges to come. Students explained the decision to become an RN saying that they had been told they had a suitable personality, but they underscored that the final decision had been their own. Some mentioned having a childhood dream of becoming an RN.

“Many have told me; you should become a nurse, but it was I who made this decision, because I did not want to become a nurse for a long time because I didn´t want to study” (Student no 1).

Doubts were identified in three areas: one´s true nature, life situation, and the nursing profession. Concerns of trying out if RN would be an appropriate occupation, being incapable, coming to dislike the profession or regretting having started the program were linked to ideas about self-awareness and personality. Responsibilities to significant others were mentioned as a potential obstacle in coping with the education. Doubts about the profession concerned poor working conditions including an overwhelming workload, becoming stuck in the middle and not being appreciated.

“That I shall never be able to relax but will always be sitting in the wrong chair all the time, and to have to struggle financially, no salary, will I be able to take extra shifts or not, yes worries, and if I should feel it isn´t my cup of tea too, it would be sad if I had put a lot of effort into the education” (Student no 31).

Prepared for internship

In the second interview after two semesters in theoretical education students were about to put their theoretical knowledge into practical skills.

Theoretically equipped

Students expressed a belief in their own progress and having learned a lot, feeling theoretically prepared for internship. However, this experience of being successful in their studies was not particularly influenced by failing exams or not passing a course.

“A lot of theoretical knowledge that I think is still present even if you forget a little here and there, I think it is in the back of your head somewhere, and anyway, still you don’t feel that you’re thrown in at the deep end, now you get to learn to swim, but you still have some knowledge, that you hopefully will be able to try” (Student no 11).

Need experience

The transition of knowledge from abstract to concrete was expressed as a longing to develop clinical skills. Consequently, the desire for internship was regarded as a long-awaited opportunity to develop practical experience.

“I’m just looking forward more and more to internship and to see how it is for real and so on, because sometimes you want to be able to see if it is as good as you read in the books” (Student no 20).

Professional approach

Students testified to the experience of having changed their outlook on their personal life and of being able to act professionally when needed. They felt more competent having acquired more knowledge. Students talked about an increased interest in searching for evidence-based practice in daily life and compared this with how they used to do things because they had heard or read about it somewhere. They described this in terms of a change in mindset, being more thorough when it came to searching for information.

“I have learned the difference between just being nice and being too much sugar and spice with the risk of being condescending, just think of small things such as saying that, like not to say, come on, let’s go and shower, because it may not actually be the way to talk to someone, it becomes a little statement of stupidity, sweetie or love or whatever, so I think my communication has probably improved, and I think I have a slightly more humble attitude than before” (Student no 3).

Trust in educators

A trust in educators emerged in this interview, expressed by expectations about being taught what they need to become an RN. Additionally, sometimes the understanding and relevance of topics brought to the fore in the teaching did not occur until after having completed a course; during the course the aims and structure sometimes came across as unclear and ambiguous. Students expressed taking for granted that all the topics taught built on evidence-based practice.

“It’s hard to say because I have not practiced it, I feel that we get the tools at university that equip us to think safely” (Student no 8).

Insecurity was brought up by students in terms of lacking knowledge, competence, or ability. The fear of making mistakes and harming a patient was one of the students’ worst fears. Feelings of underperforming were mentioned and often related to personal issues. When talking about pressures felt in relation to studying, students mentioned that they had themselves to blame, for example because of poor planning or prioritizing other things besides studying.

“The thought of internship makes me incredibly nervous, but also very excited so there are conflicting emotions… it is nerve-racking in both directions, but I hope that you feel safe then with all the theory that we have received, we have gained a very solid knowledge so that’s not what I’m unsure of, it’s rather my own competence to take in everything I’m a little unsure of” (Student no 23).

Fairy-tale world

Since students were about to embark on their clinical practice, issues about this reality were highlighted. There was a preconception of what to expect, combined with thoughts of being taught about a fairy tale world. Even so, the pre-understanding of how things worked was considered valuable. Additionally, an awareness of being underpaid as an RN was raised, but this was overruled by the prospect of receiving emotional rewards in the profession.

“These things are repeated all the time, but you never get the chance to discuss what reality looks like, and what do I do if it doesn´t look like this, because it doesn´t, so it becomes very much like what the fairy tale world looks like, and we hope reality looks like that too “ (Student no 5).

Deepened understanding

The third interview took place halfway through the program when all students had attended internship. The internship was described as an opportunity to transfer theoretical knowledge to practical skills. Students particularly testified to experiences involving broadened knowledge of the nursing profession, nurse core competencies and the health-care organization.

Constant process

Development at this stage was experienced as challenging. Learning was described as a personal responsibility, although students also stressed the importance of being able to observe supervisors as good role models.

“It is a constant learning process, searching for knowledge, you should always question why do we do this, there should be evidence… we develop all the time” (Student no 26).

Contrariwise learning

Students described examples of supervision settings in which the tutor did not follow guidelines or failed to uphold patient safety. Students dealt with such ‘negative learning experiences’ by setting personal objectives not to act as these tutors. Students underscored that those experiences of negative examples could potentially be more beneficial given opportunities to reflect on these together with a peer.

“It is very educational to be out and see both good and bad examples because then you see how you absolutely don´t want to work and how you don´t want to become and what you don´t think is okay” (Student no 16).

Want to influence

When talking about negative matters in health care, students highlighted their visions of making influence. Students talked about the ability to act professionally during internship, something that became complicated when supervisors took shortcuts or skipped guidelines. Sometimes this led to a complex change in mindset about the professional role as students did not want to question the supervisors openly.

“Sometimes it has also been like this:’You see that I have gloves on me, ok’, although they don´t have gloves,’for educational purposes I have gloves, you know now, okay’.“ (Student no 25).

Reality shock

Some clinical placements were described as being charged with a negative atmosphere including staff who acted negligently or carelessly. It was concluded that the nurse core competencies were an excellent theoretical model, but some of them were regarded impossible to maintain. For example, students’ estimations of patients’ safety in clinics ranged from dangerous to secure. An unsafe environment was explained as a consequence of exhausted staff and lack of time. Students were annoyed with the amount of documentation and non-appropriate software, stealing time from patient care. Instances of hierarchical thinking were mentioned as a minor problem, primarily experienced in meetings with employees close to retirement age.

“You want so incredibly much, and you have your high ambition when you go out [in the clinic] and so, and then there is no time or something, it was kind of quite scary to come out and see how it actually is in reality” (Student no 10).

Learning practical skills was described as exhausting since trained staff offered diverse methods, sometimes lacking in evidence. Students also voiced problems identifying ‘the correct way’ to perform medical technical. Additionally, students did not want to oppose their supervisors but rather sought their guidance and support.

“It was tough to have such a long internship, it was absolutely dreadful … and then you are new and should be so damn alert… because it is our own responsibility, our own learning of course, you want so much… I was actually completely exhausted” (Student no 33).

In the fourth interview, the students were aware that their education was coming to an end, and they were about to leave the student role. Students highlighted that even if they felt prepared to work as RN:s, they did not consider themselves fully trained.

Feeling prepared

Students expressed having learnt the professional role, being equipped, and having trust in their own competence and ability. Competence was referred to as a personal capacity, including both professional skills and abilities. Students also testified to having an insight into the necessary knowledge of an RN and expressed gratitude to persistent lecturers pushing them to learn things they initially did not understand.

“From not really knowing what I got myself into, to knowing I have an ethical compass, and I can question certain actions or prescriptions that I am not sure about, that I wish the patient well, that I can see it” (Student no 27).

Influences of reality

Students reflected on poor terms of employment, mentioning issues of low salary, lack of time and poor working environments. These concerns were strengthened by internship experiences of working alongside tired staff or those only waiting for retirement. Students also reflected on societal values that have a negative impact on RNs, for example increased ethnocentrism, and an overall hardening climate. Moreover, students voiced fears of becoming bored and not caring about their work, linking back to encounters with tired and overworked nurses at the clinic.

“I saw staff who didn´t have time to eat lunch and such, it may not be a major part of the profession itself but more healthcare in general and that is probably what I have thought about a lot, will it be like that when I finish and have to work for well, thirty more years” (Student no 13).

Exciting and scary

Despite describing a conviction of being able to work as an RN, emotions of insecurity were voiced in terms of an unknown future regarding both graduation and being employed. Worries about ending up in a non-functional workplace were voiced as well as the importance and purpose of collaboration. Having observed teams of varying functionality students also talked about the importance of belonging to a purposeful team. To take on a leading role of an interprofessional team was considered to be both exiting and scary. Additionally, students underscored the advantage of participating in an introductory program when applying for employment, along with a strategy to change workplace if they felt dissatisfied.

“It feels scary at the same time as it feels really fun and fine to finally finish, I aim for advanced studies eventually, but I want to work to feel a bit more confident” (Student no 8).

Personal development

Students reported an increased level of personal awareness in terms of having developed humility and ability to identify their own shortcomings. Reflections on supervisors working against regulations due to lack of time or laziness, led to reasoning about the risk of ending up the same way, not taking care of patients in an evidence-based and secure way. Another opinion was that the education offered too little time to develop the ability to handle future professional challenges.

“I have gained a lot of knowledge, but also that you grow a lot as a person and as a human, in what you do you learn a lot about yourself “ (Student no 24).

Overarching theme: ready but not fully trained

The interviews revealed emotions of being competent but also of lacking knowledge and skills; students considered that continued learning and development was necessary to work as a professional RN. The students pointed out that they would give up working as an RN if they felt there was no need for further learning, because there will always be room for improvement, leading to the overarching theme; Ready but not fully trained as students explained that the nursing profession implies lifelong learning and lifelong improvement.

Findings from this study describe students perceived gradual transformation of becoming a professional RN. In particular our findings indicate that students entering higher education sometimes have a naive or idealized view of the nursing profession, driven by dreams such as helping people, developing a career and delivering excellent nursing, as found by ten Hoeve et al. [ 30 ]. Similar to Lindberg et al. [ 31 ] we found that today’s entrants to nursing education believe in themselves and their ability to make an impact.

During the first year students were primarily focused on acquiring theoretical knowledge to develop a solid basis. After having completed a year of theoretical education, they felt prepared to test their theoretical knowledge in practice. Moreover, due to the first theoretical year, students’ self-esteem had increased even if they were not always aware of their progress until they had had time to reflect and look back. Their own professional development became tangible when they started to compare their current skills and competence with the experiences they had at the outset of education, a “delayed” professional understanding. Our findings advance earlier work on delayed understanding that refers to a situation in which students taking a particular course have difficulty understanding topics introduced in the teaching, and why particular things should be learned [ 32 ]. Later on, they do see the point of taking the course, but this understanding can sometimes be substantially delayed, which may cause some students to experience considerable frustration.

When entering clinical practice students are theoretically equipped, but most students lack practical experience, they are on a Novice level [ 11 ]. In the second year, after practicing their skills in clinical environments, students described how theory and practice were joined to become a whole. Our study indicate that the students’ expectations constituted motivation for theoretical studies, which in turn provided readiness for practical training with the support of acquired theoretical knowledge. The experiential learning in clinic seems to give the students possibility to enter the level of Advanced beginner [ 11 ].

The clinical environment was sometimes a rough wake-up call when students’ experiences did not quite meet their dreams and expectations, previously described by ten Hoeve et al. [ 30 ]. Even so, this study revealed that students testified to experiences of having been able to train according to guidelines, although the staff worked according to routines without practicing person-centered care. Students’ professional development became obvious when they reflected on, and assessed, the behaviors and actions of the clinical staff. Interestingly, students used the experience of meeting supervisors lacking in professional competency as “bad examples” which led to a personal goal not to act in a similar way. From these observations it is clear that learning occurs in all areas, also when there are discrepancies and gaps [ 33 ]. Despite the negative experiences of students, our findings suggest that students did mature as human beings, identifying changes in their own behavioral patterns, indicating they were involved in a transformative learning process [ 34 ]. Gaining experience from both work and personal life seemed to be beneficial to professional development. Furthermore, during the clinical education, students deepened their understanding through experiential learning and at the time of graduation, the students had developed a professional insight. Benner describes that newly graduated nurses are mostly Advanced beginners [ 11 ], but our results suggests that many students have reached the level Competent.

Students professional development became visible in how they transformed their understanding of the six core competencies: person-centered care, evidence-based practice, teamwork and collaboration, safety, quality improvement and informatics [ 10 ]. In the early interviews, students spontaneously ranked the importance of each competency, some considered more essential and others less significant. At the end of the program students described a pattern of connection between all core competencies, implying that if one was missing it would be to the detriment of the others. Students’ ability to connect the core competencies as parts forming a coherent whole revealed their understanding of the complexity of the nursing profession as described by Guaroni et al. and Lindberg et al. [ 31 , 35 ]. Similar to findings reported by Manninen et al. [ 36 ] our results showed students’ focus on professional development shifting from managing medical-technical skills to the capability of using a person-centered and holistic perspective when interacting with patients. Our findings of students’ ability to overview the context and achieve a holistic understanding of the core competencies reveals a clear progression in their professional development. The findings presented here indicate that students experience insecurity at the end of their education as they realize they have to master nursing care as well as be able to co-ordinate the professional team, an observation which has previously been reported by Lindberg et al. [ 31 ]. These dichotomous emotions of excitement and fear at time of graduation could be connected to the fact that the biggest step from being a student to a professional RN involves taking independent responsibility as shown by Kumaran and Carneys [ 37 ]. Additionally, students’ observation that an RN always needs further development clearly indicate that the interviewees reflected on their own professional competence as well as nursing competence in general. This is an important reminder for employers and managers to sanction time for staff professional development activities.

Strengths and limitations

This study offered longitudinal insights into a sample of 34 students followed throughout their education. Different measures were taken to enhance trustworthiness including dependability and credibility [ 23 ]. All students who had entered the nursing program, regardless of previous experiences, were invited to participate. The same interview guide was used on each occasion although students started their studies at different times. All interviews were carried out by the first author, who had a pre-understanding working as a lecturer at the university. To reduce impact on students’ participation no interviews were performed in the semester when the first author graded the students. The interviews took place at one specific university and these contextual boundaries need to be taken into consideration in assessing the transferability of the results to other contexts. However, the Swedish nursing program is regulated by national guidelines, likewise to nursing education globally which suggests that these findings may be of relevance to programs of a similar kind. The findings presented here make important connections the more general concept of authenticity and Benner´s [ 11 ] nursing theory and Mezirows theory of transformative learning [ 34 ] which may potentially enhance the generalizability of the results.

The process of developing a professional competence as a nurse progresses gradually. Upon graduation, students feel ready but not fully trained, which signifies a professional approach in which an RN can always improve academic and clinical skills. A solid theoretical knowledge contributes to students reflecting on both their own role and the nurse’s role in clinical settings. Our findings indicate a discrepancy between the content of the theoretical education and the clinical settings since students identified a lack of evidence-based practice. It is clear that students could benefit from increased collaborative work between clinical supervisors and faculty staff at the university.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to that the material may contain details about participants that might need to be anonymized but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the students for giving their time and valuable information.

Open access funding provided by Karolinska Institute. Supported by grants provided by the Stockholm County Council (ALF-project) and the Sophiahemmet Research Foundation, Sweden.

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Susanne Lundell Rudberg & Taina Sormunen

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Margareta Westerbotn

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HL designed the study. SLR performed interviews and analyses. SLR, HL, TS, MW and MS drafted and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Lundell Rudberg, S., Westerbotn, M., Sormunen, T. et al. Undergraduate nursing students’ experiences of becoming a professional nurse: a longitudinal study. BMC Nurs 21 , 219 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-01002-0

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Nursing Essay Examples

Nursing Essay Examples That Will Help You Write a Stellar Paper

Published on: May 6, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 29, 2024

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Many nursing students struggle with writing effective nursing essays, which are an essential part of their education and professional development.

Poor essay writing skills can lead to low grades and an inability to effectively communicate important information.

This blog provides a comprehensive guide to writing nursing essays with examples and tips for effective writing. Whether you are a nursing student or a professional looking to improve your writing skills, this blog has something for you. 

By following the tips and examples provided, you can write compelling nursing essays that showcase your dedication to the field.

Let’s get started.

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What is a Nursing Essay?

A nursing essay is a type of academic writing that aims to explore a particular topic related to nursing. It also presents a clear and concise argument or viewpoint supported by evidence. 

Nursing essays can take many forms, including:

• Descriptive essays
• Reflective essays
• Analytical essays
• Persuasive essays

What is the Importance of the Nursing Essay?

Nursing essays are important for several reasons. First, they help nursing students develop critical thinking skills by requiring them to analyze and evaluate information.

Second, they help students develop research skills by requiring them to locate and use credible sources to support their arguments. 

Third, nursing essays help students develop communication skills by requiring them to present their ideas clearly and concisely in writing. Finally, nursing essays are important for nursing education because they prepare students for the types of writing.

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To help students better understand how to write nursing essays, it can be helpful to review examples.

Below are some examples of nursing essays.

Nursing School Essay Examples

College Nursing Essay Examples

Graduate Nursing Essay Examples

Nursing Scholarship Essay Examples

Nursing Essay Conclusion Examples

Nursing Essay Examples of Different Fields

Nursing is a diverse field with many different specialties and areas of focus. As a result, nursing essays can take many different forms and cover a wide range of topics. 

Given below are some examples of different types of nursing essays:

Personal Philosophy Of Nursing - Essay Examples

Cal State Fullerton Nursing Essay Examples

Evidence Based Practice Nursing In Medical Field - Essay Examples

Leadership In Nursing And Healthcare Professionals - Essay Examples

Principles Of Professional Practice Of Nursing Professionals And Pharmacists

If you're seeking additional examples of nursing essays, you're in luck! 

Below are some more examples that can help you gain a better understanding of nursing essays:

Health Care And Reflective Models For Nursing - Essay Examples

History Of Nursing Essay Examples

Ethical Dilemma In Nurses Work - Essay Examples

Mental Health Nursing Essay Examples

Why I Want To Be A Nurse Essay

Working In A Team And Collaboration In Nursing

How to Write a Nursing Essay

Writing a nursing essay can seem daunting, but with the right approach, it can be a rewarding experience.

Here are the key steps involved in writing a nursing essay:

Understanding the Topic and Question

The first step in writing a nursing essay is to carefully read and understand the topic and question. 

This will help you determine what information you need to research and include in your essay. Make sure you understand any key terms or concepts related to the topic. Consider different perspectives or viewpoints that may be relevant.

Researching the Topic

Once you have a clear understanding of the topic and question, it's time to research. 

Start by gathering information from credible sources such as academic journals, textbooks, and government websites. 

Consider both primary and secondary sources, and make sure to take detailed notes as you read.

Organizing and Outlining the Essay

Once you have completed your research, it's time to organize your ideas and create an outline for your essay. 

Start by identifying the main points or arguments you want to make, and then organize them into a logical order that flows well. 

Your outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Writing the Essay

With your outline in place, it's time to start writing your essay. Make sure to follow your outline closely, and use clear and concise language that effectively communicates your ideas. 

Use evidence from your research to support your arguments, and cite your sources appropriately.

Editing and Revising the Essay

Once you have completed a first draft of your essay, take some time to edit and revise it. Look for any errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation, and make sure your essay is well-organized and flows well. 

Consider asking a peer or instructor to review your essay and provide feedback.

What To Include In Your Nursing Essay

When writing a nursing essay, there are several key elements that you should include. Here are some important things to keep in mind:

• Introduction

Your introduction should provide a brief overview of the topic and purpose of your essay. It should also include a clear thesis statement that presents your main argument or point of view.

• Background Information

Provide some background information on the topic to help the reader better understand the context of your essay. This can include relevant statistics, historical information, or other contextual details.

• Evidence and Examples

Use evidence and examples from your research to support your arguments and demonstrate your knowledge of the topic. Make sure to cite your sources appropriately and use a variety of sources to strengthen your argument.

• Analysis and Evaluation

Provide analysis and evaluation of the evidence and examples you've presented. This can include discussing strengths and weaknesses, comparing and contrasting different viewpoints, or offering your own perspective on the topic.

Your conclusion should summarize the main points of your essay and restate your thesis statement. It should also offer some final thoughts or suggestions for further research or action.

Nursing Essay Topic Ideas

Choosing a topic for your nursing essay can be challenging, but there are many areas in the field that you can explore. Here are some nursing essay topic ideas to consider:

• The role of technology in nursing practice
• The impact of cultural diversity on healthcare delivery
• Nursing leadership and management in healthcare organizations
• Ethical issues in nursing practice
• The importance of patient-centered care in nursing practice
• The impact of evidence-based practice on nursing care
• The role of nursing in promoting public health
• Nursing education and the importance of lifelong learning
• The impact of nursing shortages on healthcare delivery
• The importance of communication in nursing practice

These are just a few ideas to get you started. You can also explore other topics related to nursing that interest you or align with your academic or professional goals. 

Remember to choose a topic that is relevant, interesting, and feasible to research and write about.

Tips for Writing an Effective Nursing Essay

Writing a successful nursing essay requires careful planning, research, and attention to detail. Here are some tips to help you write an effective nursing essay:

• Writing Concisely and Clearly

Nursing essays should be written in clear and concise language, avoiding unnecessary jargon or technical terms. Use simple language and short sentences to help ensure that your ideas are communicated clearly and effectively.

• Stating a Clear Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement should clearly state your main argument and provide a roadmap for the rest of your essay. It should be clear, concise, and located at the end of your introduction.

• Using Proper Citation and Referencing

Citing and referencing your sources is crucial in any academic writing, including nursing essays. Make sure to use proper citation and referencing styles, such as APA or MLA. Include a reference list or bibliography at the end of your essay.

• Seeking Feedback and Revising

Before submitting your nursing essay, seek feedback from peers, professors, or writing tutors. Use their feedback to revise and improve your essay. Make sure that it is well-structured, coherent, and effectively communicates your point of view.

By following these tips, you can write a nursing essay that demonstrates your knowledge and skills in the field.

In conclusion, writing a successful nursing essay requires careful planning, research, and attention to detail. 

To showcase your knowledge in the field of nursing, it is important to have a clear understanding of the topic at hand. When writing your nursing essay, be sure to include relevant examples, incorporate current research, and use proper citation and referencing. 

And remember , seeking feedback and revising your essay is key to ensuring that it effectively communicates your ideas and arguments.

If you need help with your nursing essay or any other type of academic writing, consider using our AI essay writer . 

Our nursing essay writing service can provide personalized support to help you succeed in your academic goals.

So, why wait? Contact us to get college essay writing help today! 

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Anna’s Student Nursing Experience

On Wednesday 2nd September (8pm-9pm UK time) @EBNursingBMJ is co-hosting a twitter chat on student nursing and midwifery with @RCNStudents 

To celebrate the contributions our student nurses/midwives make – we are sharing blogs of their experiences in practice.  Today’s blog is from Anna Jones , a second year student nurse on the children’s branch, from the University of Leeds 

My name is Anna Jones and I am a second year student nurse. I am studying at the University of Leeds and my branch is children’s nursing. I am currently on my summer annual leave and I have to say, I’m enjoying every minute! As much as I enjoy my course, it’s a relief to have a break! To say that second year has been difficult would be an understatement. Continual deadlines whilst working on placement all year has been exhausting, but a challenge I am proud to say that I have overcome. Being a student nurse brings many challenges every day. Whether it’s completing an assignment, frantically trying to get a certain skill signed off or ironing your uniform after a twelve and a half hour shift ready for another the next day. What I would give for my own fairy god mother!

However, these challenges do not compare to the ones many patients encounter daily and I am forever putting my own life into perspective to realise how truly lucky myself and many others are to have good health. Working within the field of paediatrics is incredibly rewarding and a joy to meet and care for so many courageous children and families. The strength and resilience they have to face each day is remarkable and gives me the motivation to deliver the best care I can, because my patient’s deserve nothing less.

Like I mentioned, this year has been a tough one – I thought first year was difficult but nothing can prepare you for the jump to second year. I first worked on a day case surgical ward which I loved. Whilst the no nights and weekends were a bonus, meeting so many children and families every shift was a delight. I was able to accompany patients throughout their short stay in hospital, from their admission and the journey to the anaesthetic room to bringing them back to the ward and saying goodbye as they were discharged. Although this was a short experience for patients and their families, do not underestimate the fear and anxieties that are experienced and how valuable the role of nurses are to lend a comforting smile and words of encouragement as children prepare for their surgery.

Being a children’s nurse means delivering the upmost care to that patient, but also ensuring family centred care is encapsulated within practice because they are also on this journey, experiencing a vast range of emotions. Comforting a parent who was crying as their child had been anaesthetised and taken to surgery, having only known them for a few hours seems a bit of an awkward situation. But when you are in that role, that caring role of a nurse, you pat them on the back, lend them a shoulder to cry on or even give them a hug, all with no hesitation. Because if you cannot show that level of compassion and empathy, how can you truly fulfil your role as a nurse?

The rest of my placements this year have been based in the community, one of which was health visiting. Students often have mixed reactions about health visiting but for me it was very different to life on the ward! 9am starts was one of the best perks, an extra two hours in bed was bliss! Working 9-5 Monday to Friday was also a very different routine, and one which I actually found more tiring than 3 long days on a ward. Community placements were slightly more relaxed compared to the busy pace of a ward, but do not doubt the workload. One baby is born every forty seconds in the UK, and each one needs a health visitor. But I enjoyed the placement and an area of health care I would certainly consider further along in my career. Another placement within the community was based at a SILC school. These are Specialist Inclusive Learning Centres for children with special needs. This was a special placement for several reasons; meeting children with specialist and complex needs was so valuable as a student nurse. To see the small yet significant impact you were making on these children was endearing and a valuable learning experience for future practice. The school was also where my grandma had nursed for 20 years; I had quite literally stepped into her shoes! As you can see, nursing runs in the family…

I found that working in the community was a valuable experience to ascertain the care that is delivered outside of the hospital setting. It was also important to become aware of all the services available for children and families to ensure that you are working as part of a wider team to ensure that the care you deliver is holistic within the context of that patient. I realise I sound like I’m writing an essay but it is so important to deliver effective, person centred care. To put my job into perspective, I always try to imagine if it was my younger sister or brother being cared for which gives me the drive to deliver the care that my patients deserve. If my parents or grandparents had to go into hospital, I would want the best level of care delivered to them, as would everyone. This is why the notion of ‘person centred care’ should resonate throughout the nursing workforce and an aspect I will channel within my career. At the beginning of my nursing programme I discovered a quote by Maya Angelou that encapsulates this well within the context of nursing:

‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’

I have one more placement of my second year, 4 weeks on a respiratory ward which I begin in a few weeks time. It’s been nice to relax and have some time off but I am looking forward to being thrown back into the whirlwind that is nursing. I will then continue straight into third year. My final year. With so many assignments and placements, qualifying has always seemed like a lifetime away, but now it’s only 60 weeks away (to be precise!) Am I apprehensive? Yes. I can already feel the huge weight that is third year beginning to rest on my shoulders with the prospect of dissertation and applying for jobs. Am I ready? Sometimes I’m not so sure, but I’ve got this far so there is definitely no turning back now! Am I excited with what the next few years will bring? Absolutely.

Anna Jones @AnnaJones6

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Experiences of nursing students regarding clinical placement and support in primary healthcare clinics: Strengthening resilience

Beauty m. zulu.

1 Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ann Latsky Nursing College, Johannesburg, South Africa

Emmerentia du Plessis

2 NuMIQ Research Focus Area, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Magdalena P. Koen

Associated data.

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

This research addressed the need to have a deeper understanding of nursing students’ experiences of clinical placement and support in primary healthcare (PHC) settings.

To explore and describe the experiences of nursing students’ clinical placement in PHC settings.

The study was conducted at PHC clinics in a specific province in South Africa.

A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used. The population comprised fourth-year nursing students selected using purposive sampling. Five semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted. Data saturation determined the sample size which comprised 25 nursing students. Thematic data analysis produced four main themes.

The main themes were (1) the meaning of placement, (2) experiences of clinical placement, (3) needs for support, and (4) resilience of nursing students.

Conclusions

Nursing students encountered negative and positive experiences. Both experiences confirmed that PHC settings can be valuable learning opportunities for nursing students. Nursing students appreciated the supervision of professional nurses who created an atmosphere conducive for teaching and learning by welcoming and encouraging nursing students’ independence. Recommendations include: appointing a professional nurse specifically for supervision of nursing students, tutor support before summative examinations, improvement of services, including the availability of resources.

Contribution

This article contributes to awareness of how nursing students manage to stay resilient irrespective of negative experiences during clinical placement and how tutors and professional nurses can support them. The study’s recommendations can guide professional nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers and other healthcare PHC workers to support nursing students.

Introduction

The focus of primary healthcare (PHC) is on the health needs of clients at all levels, including preventive, promotive, curative, and rehabilitative levels of care (Robertson et al. 2016 ). All PHC clinics should offer comprehensive services, which are available, accessible, affordable, effective and efficient thereby bringing health closer to communities. Primary health care forms an integral part of a country’s health system, and it is the main focus that constitutes the first element of a continuing healthcare process (Druetz 2018 ).

Nursing Education Institutions (NEI) in South Africa (SA) place nursing students at PHC clinics to obtain clinical learning experience. These clinical environments should have a positive learning atmosphere so that nursing students are able to transfer classroom knowledge to clinical practice (Motsaanaka, Makhene & Ally 2020 ). A positive clinical learning environment includes cooperation between staff members, a positive atmosphere and an environment where nursing students are regarded as colleagues, and they must be able to acquire significant information and respond appropriately to patient care situations (Chiona 2020 ).

Clinical learning for nursing students at PHC clinics requires adequate support from the NEI and PHC nurses (Mekgoe et al. 2019 ). The role of PHC nurses becomes imperative when looking at support for nursing students placed at PHC clinics for clinical practice (Barbiani, Dalla Nora & Schaefer 2016 ). The roles of PHC nurses include organising staff and equipment, patient care, teaching and learning of nursing students. Primary health care nurses should guide and support nursing students during clinical practice. All qualified professional nurses require training especially on tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV and AIDS) (Mekgoe et al. 2019 ), as well as maternal and child health (Rispel & Bruce 2015 ) to be able to transfer the newly acquired knowledge and support to nursing students.

Placement at PHC settings provides training opportunities for nursing students, as well as opportunities to develop responsibility, self-confidence and resilience – namely courage to endure difficult situations (Fröberg et al. 2018 ). Positive clinical learning experiences that build resilience include orientation to the service, a sense of belonging to the PHC team, independent working opportunities and growth towards professionalism (Robertson et al. 2016 ). Nursing students also experienced challenges during clinical practice placements such as shortages of human and material resources, staff burnout, ineffective quality control, inadequate continuing education and a lack of support and mentoring from professional nurses who might regard nursing students as part of the PHC ‘workforce’ (Robertson et al. 2016 :423). These challenges require nursing students to be resilient, ready and prepared to cope with such situations. (Robertson et al. 2016 :423). Therefore, this article aimed to explore and describe the experiences of nursing students’ clinical placement in PHC settings and to formulate recommendations to support and strengthen students’ resilience during challenging situations.

Research problem

Clinical practice placement at PHC clinics requires nursing students to be resilient to be able to grow and cope (Lopez et al. 2018 ). On the one hand, PHC clinics as clinical learning environments offer valuable opportunities for nursing students to apply theoretical knowledge and to develop into competent, independent, professional nurses (Mackey et al. 2018 ; Phafoli et al. 2018 ). On the other hand, nursing students may experience challenges that require them to be resilient, such as lack of resources and lack of support (Thomas & Asselin 2018 ). Professional nurses who work at PHC clinics can play a valuable role in guiding nursing students (Barbiani et al. 2016 ).

There was a limited research on nursing students’ experiences in PHC clinics in a province in SA, and how professional nurses working at PHC clinics can support nursing students. This research was important in the context of a province with the highest numbers of NEI, with equally high numbers of students (SANC 2018 ), and consequently high numbers of students who need to be placed at PHC clinics for clinical practice. For example, at the time of this study, there were 197 fourth-year nursing students registered at a specific public nursing college who needed clinical placement at PHC clinics. Literature confirms that the need for research on the resilience of professionals involved in PHC remains evident (Robertson et al. 2016 ). At the time of the research, the first author’s own experience as a professional nurse in a PHC clinic also confirmed the need for this research. Whilst more recent research has also been reported at the international level and in the African context on the learning experiences of nursing students during placement at PHC clinics, support for nursing students during clinical placement in PHC remains lacking (Fröberg et al. 2018 ; Mackey et al. 2018 ; Mbakaya et al. 2020 ). There is thus an ongoing need for research to explore and describe nursing students’ experience of clinical placement in PHC clinics, in this case in a province in SA, and to apply the findings to recommend strategies for support to strengthen students’ resilience during challenging clinical situations.

The following research questions were based on the problem statement:

• What are the experiences of nursing students’ clinical placement in PHC settings for clinical nursing practice?
• How can nursing students be supported to strengthen their resilience during challenging situations at clinical placements in PHC settings?

The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of nursing students’ clinical placement in PHC settings and to formulate recommendations to support and strengthen students’ resilience during challenging clinical situations.

Definitions of keywords

Clinical practice – involves the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes by correlating theory and practice, enabling an individual to perform fully in the process of becoming a nurse and a professional, without putting patients at risk. It includes not only the performance of nursing procedures but the relationships with patients and colleagues (Chiona 2020 ). In this study, clinical practice referred to nursing students’ learning experiences encountered at PHC clinics.

Experience – a hands-on job that prepares nursing students for a diverse patient care environment in a variety of settings, and it provides a vast wealth of knowledge. It includes planned experiences for a specific nursing education course and experiences gained by nursing students in a hospital, clinic, healthcare centre, and the community (Rajeswaran 2016 ). This study focused on the experiences of nursing students of clinical practice in PHC clinics.

Nursing students – student nurses registered under Regulation 425 of the Nursing Act (Act 33 of 2005) as amended to qualify as a nurse (General, Psychiatric, Community) and Midwife (South African Government 2005 ). In this study, nursing students referred to the fourth-year nursing students enrolled at a public nursing college for a nursing diploma who had been allocated to specific PHC clinics for acquiring clinical practice learning opportunities.

Primary healthcare – is essential healthcare based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This healthcare service is made accessible and affordable to the community to maintain their health and development (Druetz 2018 ). In this research, the focus was on municipal PHC clinics in a specific region of a South African province.

Resilience – the ability to recover one’s strength, health, energy, spirit and motivation after experiencing a setback or adversity (Robertson et al. 2016 ). In this research study, the focus was on the resilience of nursing students to cope with challenges encountered during their clinical practice assignments at PHC clinics.

Research design and methods

A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used to explore the experiences of nursing students’ placement in PHC settings for clinical practice (Botma et al. 2015 ). This design was chosen as participants were studied in a natural context. Also, this design was in line with the purpose of the study, namely to explore and describe nursing students’ experience (Botma et al. 2015 ). The research method is presented next by discussing the study setting, study population and sampling strategy, data collection, and data analysis.

Research setting

The study was conducted at PHC clinics in a specific province in SA, administered by the local government, also called municipal clinics. These clinics comprise: 14 fixed clinics and 1 fixed porta cabin. A porta cabin is a temporary, flexible building designed to be movable where accommodation is required for an uncertain period. The PHC clinics provide comprehensive services, such as ante-natal services, child health and immunisation, reproductive health and family planning, adolescent and youth-friendly services, acute and chronic services. The clinic with the highest workload of patients reports statistics of 15 000–17 000 patients per month and the clinic with the lowest reports 800–1000 patients per month. The average staff starting with the busiest clinic consists of eight professional nurses, two enrolled nurses and two auxiliary nurses and other support staff members. The least busy clinic has four professional nurses and one auxiliary nurse. Four to six fourth-year nursing students from a specific public nursing college had been placed on several occasions at these PHC clinics from their second year. The placement usually takes 4–6 weeks. Each professional nurse would supervise a maximum of two nursing students per consultation room.

Study population and sampling strategy

The population comprising 197 fourth-year nursing students was identified from a public nursing college’s records. Purposive sampling (Brink, Van der Walt & Van Rensburg 2018 ) was used to select participants whose age ranged between 22 and 30 years. The inclusion criteria required that participants be fourth-year nursing students regardless of age or gender, familiar with PHC clinical settings, and able to communicate in English. Students were invited and requested to consent voluntarily to participate in the study. Sampling resulted in five focus groups (Polit & Beck 2021 ) comprising five to eight participants each. The total number of participants was 25. Data saturation determined the sample size.

Data collection

Five focus group interviews including the pilot study were conducted between June and September 2014 at five different PHC clinics where the participants were placed. Looking at more recent, similar research findings (Motsaanaka et al. 2020 ), the findings of this research are still relevant. More recent studies still report that students need emotional, cognitive and systems support such as personal attention, care, guidance to gain confidence and socialisation in nursing (Bazrafkan & Kalyani 2018 ; Hosseinabadi et al. 2020 ; Hugo, Botma & Raubenheimer 2018 ; Kgafele, Coetzee & Heyns 2015 ; Mbakaya et al. 2020 ; Mekgoe et al. 2019 ), whilst the current study offers valuable findings and recommendations that can add to the body of knowledge on this important topic.

Semi-structured focus group interviews were used to explore nursing students’ experiences regarding their placement at PHC for clinical practice. Interview questions were developed in line with the research problem and purpose: ‘What does it mean to you to be placed in PHC clinics for clinical practice?’;, ‘Describe your positive, supportive and helpful experiences during clinical practice at PHC clinics?’; ‘Please elaborate further on how you can be supported to cope with challenges?’ and ‘What enables you to cope irrespective of challenges you encountered?’

The first author did a role-play exercise to practise interviewing and recording skills before the actual data collection was done. A trial run focus group interview was also done to test the appropriateness and applicability of questions, which were assessed by the study supervisors. The trial run focus group interview entailed that the first author conduct and audio-record the first focus group interview with the first group of participants, and held a discussion with the supervisors to reflect on the appropriateness and clarity of the interview questions. No changes were needed from the interview questions and further focus group interviews were continued. Each focus group interview lasted for approximately 60 min. The challenges experienced were that the venue for the interviews had to be changed from the nursing college to PHC clinics because of the tight lecture time table and block tests that were scheduled for nursing students.

Immediately after each focus group interview, field notes were taken, and recordings were checked for audibility and completeness, and transcriptions were compiled by the first author (Botma et al. 2015 ). Data saturation was reached after five focus group interviews, including the pilot focus group interview, each attended by five to eight participants.

Data analysis

Thematic data analysis (Gray, Grove & Sutherland 2017 ) was used. Manual analysis was undertaken. Transcriptions of interviews were read carefully, supported by detailed notes, to get a sense of the whole data set. One transcript was then selected and read to extract important ideas through underlining central phrases. This process was repeated with the remaining transcripts. The underlined words and phrases were grouped into main categories, sub-categories and leftover categories, which were then grouped into themes and sub-themes.

Trustworthiness

Five epistemological standards of trustworthiness: truth value, applicability, consistency, neutrality and authenticity were used in this research (Guba and Lincoln, cited by Botma et al. 2015 ). This included strategies to ensure truth value, namely credibility strategies, including prolonged interaction with the participants and peer examination of the research proposal and dissertation. Prolonged interaction was ensured by building rapport with the interviewees, spending 2 h at the nursing college during an information sharing session and another 2 h at PHC clinics to familiarise oneself with the cultural values and eliminate misconceptions. Furthermore, time was given to participants before the commencement of interviews to ask questions and allay anxiety. Strategies to ensure applicability included a thick description of the research design and methods to ensure transferability. To ensure consistency through the strategy of dependability, the same strategy of a thick description of the research was followed, for example, comprehensive documentation such as transcribed audio-recorded interviews, results, conclusions, limitations and recommendations were explained and thorough transcription of interviews of each participant, to ensure that an audit trail is possible. Neutrality was ensured through confirmability, namely by involving a co-coder during data analysis and through research supervision. Authenticity further contributed to trustworthiness, namely that the exact words of the participants as recorded and transcribed formed the data set for the research.

Ethical considerations

Ethical clearance to conduct the study was granted by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University (reference number: NWU-00036-11-A1). Permission to conduct the study was also granted by the campus head of the public nursing college and by the city manager and the research committee at the district office of PHC clinics. The first author worked as an operational manager of a PHC clinic, which serves as a community nursing science placement for nursing students involved the mediator to manage power relations. The mediator was present during information sharing sessions and she co-ordinated the signing of consent forms in the absence of the first author. The mediator later provided the first author with a list of potential participants.

The principle of beneficence was upheld by recognising that the participants could potentially experience psychological distress when describing their personal views about their experiences in clinical practice at PHC clinics. The first author thus made arrangements with a social worker to counsel nursing students should a need arise. One participant cried during interviews and was offered to be referred to the social worker, but she chose not to make use of the offer. The principle of respect was upheld through providing freedom of choice to participate as indicated in information leaflets with objectives, purposes and benefits of the study and obtaining informed consent for participation and audio-recording. No participant was manipulated or forced to participate in the study. The principle of justice was upheld by selecting participants according to the selection criteria. The participants were made aware that only partial confidentiality could be ensured, and they were requested to set their own ground rules regarding upholding confidentiality. Privacy was ensured as interviews were conducted in a private room. Furthermore, transcripts of the interviews are secured in a safe place.

Four main themes emerged from the semi-structured focus group interviews, with related sub-themes (see Table 1 ). In the following section, quotes from the focus group interviews are identified by focus group interview (F1, F2, F3, F4, trial run), gender (Female [F], Male [M]), participants (P1, …) and years of age (e.g. 26 yrs). This presentation of the results is followed by a discussion of the results in light of considering existing literature.

Themes and sub-themes.

Source : Zulu, B.M., 2015 , Nursing students’ experience of clinical practice in primary health care clinics , Masters dissertation, North-West University, Potchefstroom, viewed from https://repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/15830/Zulu_BM_2015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y .

PHC, primary health care.

Theme 1: The meaning of placement at primary healthcare clinics for clinical practice

The participants mentioned that being placed at PHC clinics for clinical practice is to gain practical experience, knowledge and exposure, community-related interaction, to reach educational objectives and to receive clinical guidance. These sub-themes are discussed in detail in the following section.

Gaining experience, knowledge and exposure

Being placed at PHC clinics for clinical practice is to gain practical experience, knowledge and exposure to the clinical environment:

‘Gaining the skill to see the patient.’ (F3, F, P2, 22yrs)

Participants stated that the meaning of being placed for clinical practice is to correlate theory to practice. They viewed the clinical practice as putting what they have learned in class into practice:

‘We take what we have learned at school and we incorporate it, and learn how to do it practically, that is what we do.’ (F3, F, P2, 22 yrs)

Participants experienced that the knowledge and skills they gain enrich them with the ability to assess, diagnose and be able to treat minor ailments that the community might have. Furthermore, gaining experience, knowledge and exposure helps them to grow in their profession.

The participants also emphasised that clinical practice in PHC clinics exposed them to comprehensive services:

‘[… A ]s also the PHC it is not focusing only on one thing it’s a comprehensive care so meaning that whatever the patient is having we nurse the patient holistically before the patients can be referred.’ (F4, M, P2, 23 yrs)

They could implement these services starting with preventative care before patients reach the second level of care, that is the hospital.

Clinical practice exposes nursing students to interact with patients from diverse backgrounds and enable them to learn more by interacting with people from different age groups, genders and cultures:

‘We also learn how to deal with the different people, different cultures … different cultures in regards to our age, us being females, however that regards age, gender, culture, different backgrounds and learning how to deal with such.’ (F3, F, P2, 22 yrs)

Community-related interaction

According to the participants, clinical practice helps one to understand the community, that is, the catchment area, their needs, community dynamics and the common diseases that they face. They further stated that clinical practice is about understanding or learning about the community, its health needs and profile:

‘I think they have said it right but in addition I think it also helps me personally mam, maybe to understand the community and their needs and maybe to come with ideas on how to improve, to help the community.’ (F1, F, P3, 24 yrs)

They mentioned that clinical practice in PHC provides opportunities to work with the community and encourages community participation and involvement by means of community-based outreach activities to raise health awareness issues:

‘Also doing the campaigns and then when people are coming in the clinic we raise awareness and also teach them about outbreaks and also to prepare for those outbreaks.’ (F4, M, P3, 26 yrs)

Reach educational objectives

The participants raised the point that being placed at a PHC clinic for clinical practice was to reach their educational objectives set according to the curriculum outcomes at the nursing college after the completion of clinical placement and their comprehensive 4-year course:

‘Ehh, being placed in a PHC clinic I think we are here firstly to reach our objectives that were put forward to us when we were at college, according to the syllabus and do…that at the end of the day you have, you are able to nurse a patient or diagnose and treat whatever minor ailments we find in the community.’ (F2, M, P2, 23 yrs)

Clinical guidance

Clinical guidance was also mentioned as another reason to be placed at the PHC clinic for clinical practice. The participants stated that there should be clinical guidance whereby professional nurses should demonstrate procedures to nursing students as well as supervise and assess whether the procedures have been undertaken correctly during the clinical practice:

‘The positive thing here is that we are working with sisters who are experienced in PHC, so what they are doing is like we are guided or mentored by them.’ (F2, M, P3, 26 yrs) ‘[ A ]nd they are independent, they don’t rely on students that much they support us, they guide us you know.’ (F3, F, P6, 24 yrs)

Theme 2: Positive, supportive and helpful experiences at primary healthcare clinics

Experiences of clinical placement at PHC clinics were also shared, such as positive experiences related to PHC staff, but nursing students also spontaneously shared challenges with regard to staff. Further sub-themes included: environment and service-related experiences and challenges, patient-related challenges, and lack of tutor support or supervision.

Staff-related experiences

Professional nurses at PHC clinics were experienced as being supportive, nurturing independence, warm, welcoming, non-judgemental, skilled and, finally, encouraging the nursing students to explore:

‘They are very skilled and whenever you are making a mistake, they won’t make it a big deal, they just correct you and you will understand the mistake then.’ (F4, M, P3, 26 yrs)

Professional nurses welcomed them upon arrival at the clinics, taught them where they lacked capacity, and ensured that they reach their educational objectives:

‘When we come to the clinic for the practical part of it, they do help a lot and then they are patient with us, they don’t judge us, you know maybe educate you one day and then expect you to be knowing everything, you know it’s a continuous thing every day they help with that.’ (F4, M, P3, 26 yrs)

Professional nurses nurtured independence in the nursing students. They challenged the nursing students to explore through posing questions related to patient care and expecting them to find answers on their own by diagnosing and giving the correct treatment to the patients under supervision:

‘[… T ]hey also allow us to be independent because at the end of the day when you are out there as a professional nurse…they want to push as much as possible for you to be able to ask questions to explore, because that is the only way you can learn.’ (F1, F, P4, 24 yrs)

This approach encouraged learning, and they were able to strengthen their clinical skills.

The participants furthermore mentioned that the staff at the PHC clinics ensured that they reach their objectives that were put forward at the nursing college according to the curriculum:

‘Personally the positive experiences that I have had in ehm, the staff here … they are always there to make sure that we fulfil school objectives that we are supposed to cover.’ (F1, F, P4, 24 yrs)

Professional nurses at the PHC clinics offered guidance and supervision during clinical practice.

Staff-related challenges

Whilst participants mentioned positive staff experiences, they also spontaneously shared challenges with regard to the shortage of PHC professional nurses and the heavy workload at PHC clinics:

‘I have noticed that they have a shortage of staff, they only have two PHC sisters and we are four students, so if eh it’s not easy, I think, for them to mentor us.’ (F2, F, P5, 27 yrs)

It was alluded that several staff members at PHC clinics were unsupportive. In such instances, the professional nurses treated the nursing students as if they were incompetent. Furthermore, the professional nurses were not always available to the students when they sought orientation, guidance and assistance. There was a concern that some staff members at the clinic were negligent in terms of recording patient details, ‘…and there are cards which are not filled, they are just blank’ (F3, F, P5, 24 yrs) and in the distribution of protective clothing to the nursing students such as protective face masks. ‘She gave me the N95 mask but after a week, you know’ (F3, F, P6, 23 yrs). The participants also mentioned that they noticed professional nurses absent themselves from work when nursing students are placed at the clinics.

Although the participants acknowledged that staff members are skilled and experienced, they also expressed during the interviews that more professional nurses needed clinical skills, especially PHC skills, to be able to teach and mentor nursing students and nurse patients holistically:

‘… I think it is also the shortage of staff and the skills also required by the staff, you get that certain sister has a skill that most of the rooms require but its only one sister that can help.’ (F1, F, P7, 26 yrs)

They mentioned that only a small number had been trained in PHC skills.

Environment and service-related experiences and challenges

With regard to the environment and services, the participants also shared both positive experiences and challenges. On the one hand, participants experienced that there was adequate availability of resources and equipment:

‘I think the availability of the equipment also, there is availability of resources to work with.’ (F4, M, P3, 26 yrs)

In contrast, the participants also mentioned that there were limited resources to perform daily procedures during patient care. Consequently, their clinical practice became so difficult that they had to buy their own equipment:

‘We also don’t have equipment, at the college they told us to buy ourselves the baumanometers, we have our own.’ (Trial run, M, P4, 28 yrs)

Students were also concerned that they could not complete all their required practical assignments because of not all services being available at PHC clinics where they were placed, for example, school health services:

‘They do not offer school health services…on that day whatever day you decide to go to school health, you can go and do that …’ (F1, F, P5, 25 yrs)

Furthermore, concerns were raised regarding sorting and triage:

‘…there must be a system in a way emergencies could be identified and not necessarily only visible emergencies because people are critically ill.’ (F2, M, P2, 27 yrs)

Patient-related challenges

The participants experienced that the patients showed a lack of trust and confidence towards them and preferred to be assisted by the professional nurse during consultation. They shared that some patients also displayed a negative attitude towards the professional nurses, for example, when the professional nurse recommended a new treatment regimen. The lack of compliance to chronic medication treatment by patients was also highlighted as a challenge:

‘The challenges that one is facing is with regards to the clients themselves. We have some who would not necessarily want us to attend to them and it happens the client is number one on the queue and when you call that person, the person would like to be attended by a PHC sister….’ (F2, F, P5, 23 yrs)

Lack of tutor support and supervision

Participants experienced that there was a lack of support and supervision from their clinical tutors during clinical placement. Nursing students expressed the concern that when they were placed at the PHC clinics, their tutors failed to either call or visit them to check on their progress:

‘With the tutors I saw that the tutors are not supportive, they never come.’ (F3, M, P7, 29 yrs)

Theme 3: Support to cope with challenges

The participants revealed that they needed educational support, support from professional nurses at PHC settings, and service and environmental support.

Educational support

During the interviews, it was revealed that effective, continuous supervision by professional nurses was needed during clinical practice to help nursing students to deliver quality care. They also expressed the need to be supported and supervised by clinical tutors to achieve their educational goals:

‘[ W ]e would like to have more, you can see the clinical tutors a little bit especially maybe before the exam, you know we are going to be doing summative the following week, we would like to have the person coming in reassuring you….’ (F1, M, P8, 26 yrs)

The participants furthermore stated that clear communication between the tutors from the nursing college and the professional nurses at the PHC clinics would best support their goals to be achieved during clinical practice:

‘I think also if there can be someone specifically be allocated for students …but each time of the day there should be someone with the students, making sure that they do the exact thing.’ (Trial run, M, P6, 28 yrs) ‘Like we said before, like we have been saying, ehh like the in-charge I don’t know how can they communicate with the college but there should be clear communication between the college and the clinics that if you come and you are supposed to do 1, 2, 3, 4.’ (Trial run, F, P5, 25 yrs)

Support from professional nurses at primary healthcare settings

Although the participants were welcomed and felt at ease at PHC clinics, they required supportive professionals for further guidance to achieve their goals. Moreover, they viewed mutual respect between the staff members and themselves as significant as it could help them to cope with their challenges during clinical practice at PHC clinics:

‘Everyone should be treated with the same level of respect, in order for you to achieve whatever goal that you have…’ (F1, F, P5, 25 yrs)

Participants also mentioned rapport and trusting nurse-patient relationships as important aspects when providing nursing care to patients whilst placed at PHC clinics, as they needed that patients trust them during their clinical placement:

‘So I think we can solve it by health education to make them understand that even though a student or sister might be younger than them but they should regard that person as the person who would help them regardless of their age.’ (F2, F, P6, 24 yrs)

Service and environmental aspects

Service and environmental aspects included a need for clear communication between staff, a support system for staff and an effective rotational system:

‘In terms of communication, because at the end of the day whether you like it or not, you will have to communicate with that person because you will be serving the same patients and a report has to be given … verbal communication has to be there at some point.’ (F1, F, P6, 23 yrs)

It was also suggested that a conducive clinical learning environment included the availability of resources and equipment, school health services, an emergency identification system for patients, and separate consultation facilities for patients and dispensing:

‘I think they can order per room, each and every room to have its own equipment.’ (F1, F, P2, 25 yrs)

The availability of ward-based outreach teams and a doctor on site for needy patients were suggestions to maximise the availability of resources. Training needs included HIV/AIDS for professional nurses and the interpretation of vital signs for non-nursing staff:

‘I think workshops, we need to have workshop and look at training workshops even pre working in the morning.’ (F2, M, P4, 27 yrs)

Theme 4: Resilience of nursing students

The respondents shared that passion for the nursing profession, personal strengths and support enabled them to be resilient.

Passion for the nursing profession

Most of the participants believed that they keep bouncing back from their challenges at PHC clinics because they have love, passion and pride for the nursing profession:

‘I think we have fallen in love with this profession.’ (F3, M, P1, 29 yrs)

They stated that doing noble work and making a difference in someone’s life makes them feel that they are contributing and giving back to the community:

‘It makes you feel good knowing that you have done well for someone, you know.’ (F3, M, P1, 29 yrs)

They also stated that they are encouraged by the gratitude displayed by the patients they had helped:

‘When coming across them they are all clients in the street like seeing them happy, like giving you a long Yho!!! Sister you have helped me a lot I am well now, is very fulfilling.’ (F2, F, P1, 24 yrs)

Personal strengths

The participants stated that their personal strengths made them resilient. They expressed their determination as a strength that motivated them to develop into professional nurses:

‘Determination, determination to reach your goal, no matter what may come we have to achieve this goal, I came here to become a professional nurse and then I will be a professional nurse….’ (F4, M, P4, 27 yrs)

Their goal to acquire skills, knowledge and experience in the nursing profession helped them to continue in spite of the challenges:

‘Personally what keeps me going is being goal-directed and knowing what I want in spite of the hardness along the road.’ (F1, F, P7, 26 yrs)

They expressed that faith in God and having confidence give them hope and strength to cope:

‘So each time I face challenges, like if this is really the journey I am supposed to go “cause one day I was like God just help me.”’ (F3, F, P3, 27 yrs)

They added that negative experiences and challenges strengthened them emotionally and spiritually:

‘And then again by having such challenges it actually strengthens you it…and it actually makes you realise how much you love your work, if you love your work even though there are challenges, storms they come and go but you still pursue.’ (F4, M, P4, 27 yrs)

Similarly, being accountable and having responsibilities and obligations motivated them to cope with difficulties during clinical practice.

Under this sub-theme, they shared that supportive relationships boosted their confidence and increased their ability to cope during clinical practice:

‘[ A ]nd also a supportive system which is the sister who are patient with us, if they do not know, they refer back to the books and you see that the person has further interest in helping ….’ (F1, F, P7, 26 yrs)

According to the participants, support from staff members, their family members and peers helped them cope irrespective of the challenges they experienced:

‘Sometimes even ehm a good study group or just having ehm a group of peers that ehm share common goals with…’ (F3, M, P1, 29 yrs)

Positive working relationships between the staff members and nursing students during clinical practice at PHC clinics encouraged them to continue in spite of the challenges. Placement at a reputable PHC clinic for clinical practice was highlighted as a factor that helped nursing students to cope irrespective of the challenges they encountered. A reputable PHC clinic was regarded as a clinic where professional nurses were supportive, provided guidance and were willing to teach the nursing students. This also included having enough resources such as enough staff, materials and equipment:

‘… and here really we’ve got everything that we need it actually motivates us’ (F2, F, P1, 24yrs)

Nursing colleges have to place nursing students at PHC clinics so that they gain PHC skills and experience. Literature confirms that clinical placement in PHC creates the opportunity for effective learning because students are afforded the opportunity to practice what they have learned (Fröberg et al. 2018 ). The findings of this research confirmed that PHC settings can be valuable learning opportunities for nursing students who appreciated and acknowledged PHC settings as such. Motsaanaka et al. ( 2020 ) also found that nursing students learn how to deal with different patients during clinical placement. They attain a better understanding of the issues faced by patients and become more tolerant in accepting patient behaviour (Enestvedt et al. 2018 ). Similarly, Phafoli et al. ( 2018 ) found that being placed in a PHC setting enabled nursing students to gain a deeper understanding of the socio-cultural issues that impact the provision of PHC. Research conducted by Phafoli et al. ( 2018 ) and Mackey et al. ( 2018 ) also confirmed these findings, namely that placement in a PHC setting contributes to reaching nursing students’ educational goals.

Nursing students appreciated the involvement of professional nurses as supervisors who created an atmosphere conducive for teaching and learning by being welcoming and by challenging nursing students and encouraging their independence. In a study conducted from the supervisor, student and patient perspectives regarding student placement in PHC, supervisors also confirmed that it is their role to guide students and accompany them in their development as professional nurses (Fröberg et al. 2018 ). Similarly, Donough and Van der Heever ( 2018 ) reported that nursing students stated that guidance and supervision from professional nurses during their clinical placement were good.

Literature also supports the findings regarding the challenges that the participants experienced. Motsaanaka et al. ( 2020 ) found that nursing students experienced a shortage of PHC nurses and that they were regarded as workforce, that there was a lack of quality control, that professional nurses lacked appropriate qualifications such as PHC skills and that they displayed a negative attitude towards students. In another study, it was also found that nursing students did not always receive assistance and supervision from the professional nurses on duty because of the lack of staff and they had to do their best to nurse the patients (Donough & Van der Heever 2018 ). Phafoli et al. ( 2018 ) confirmed that nursing students experience a lack of resources at PHC settings as frustrating, but that it also stimulates their innovative thinking regarding coping with difficult situations.

Participants’ need for support is echoed in the existing literature. Similar research, conducted by Lopez et al. ( 2018 ) and Phafoli et al. ( 2018 ), confirmed this finding, namely that nursing students need support from educators, tutors and supervisors when placed in a PHC setting for clinical practice in order to facilitate deep learning.

Participants’ ability to remain resilient through having a passion for the profession, personal strengths and support was also found in the literature (Froneman, Du Plessis & Koen 2016 ). Robertson et al. ( 2016 ) conducted a systematic review on the resilience of PHC professionals and also concluded that having a sense of meaning and purpose contributes to resilience. Research by Phafoli et al. ( 2018 ) confirmed that nursing students experience that their confidence and competence are strengthened through being placed in a PHC setting. Robertson et al. ( 2016 ) concluded that having the strength of tolerance for and accepting uncertainty is related to a higher level of resilience. In the study conducted by Ching et al. ( 2020 ), nursing students devised ways of dealing with stress. They planned and prioritised and focused on the positive aspects of nursing rather than on the negative. Robertson et al. ( 2016 :430) also reported that a supportive workplace environment contributes to resilience. Likewise, Kaphagawani and Useh ( 2013 ) found that an environment that positively influences learning have been reported as happy, friendly with good morale and attitude, cooperative and willing to teach and guide students to provide quality patient care.

Recommendations

From the findings and the literature, recommendations that could be formulated are indicated in Table 2 . The study’s recommendations can guide and empower professional nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers and other healthcare PHC workers to support nursing students.

Recommendations for nursing practice to support nursing students at primary healthcare clinics.

Source : Zulu, B.M., 2015 , Nursing students’ experience of clinical practice in primary health care clinics , Masters dissertation, North-West University, Potchefstroom, viewed 17 May 2021, from https://repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/15830/Zulu_BM_2015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y .

PHC, primary health care; HIV/AIDS, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Regarding nursing education, it is recommended that there should be clear communication between the nursing college and PHC clinics by placing a PHC-trained professional nurse specifically for nursing students at PHC clinics. The PHC-trained professional nurse will communicate the needs of nursing students during meetings with the nursing college and get clear indications of what is required for student learning such as the students’ training file. Clinical tutors should visit nursing students regularly, especially before summative clinical examinations to provide support and guidance. Professional PHC nurses should supervise and mentor nursing students during their PHC placements. A conducive clinical environment should include a positive atmosphere where nursing students are regarded as younger colleagues. Primary healthcare clinics should be regarded as an environment conducive for learning and for correlating theory and practice.

Regarding nursing practice, professional nurses should play a major role in implementing recommendations formulated in this study (see Table 2 ) to enhance helpful and positive support for nursing students during clinical practice at PHC clinics and to support nursing students to cope with challenges encountered in PHC settings. Support should be provided at the PHC settings by staff and the nursing college, including support relating to patients and to the clinical environment conducive for teaching and learning; there should be improvement of services and availability of resources and the provision of training for professional nurses and non-nursing staff members.

Further research is needed on the implementation of recommendations for nursing practice and education to support nursing students to cope with challenges during PHC clinical practice in all regions of the country.

Limitations

Although this study obtained rich information about the experiences of nursing students when allocated at PHC clinics for clinical practice, the following limitation was identified:

Semi-structured focus group interviews which were scheduled to take place at the nursing college, could not take place because of the little time allocated (2 weeks) for theory. In the process, the mediator and the first author reached an agreement that interviews should be conducted at PHC clinics where nursing students had been placed. Some students who were willing to participate were placed in other regions and provincial clinics which did not belong to the region used in this study. Consequently, they could not be interviewed as they fall under the exclusion criteria. Some nursing students who were willing to participate were placed at distant clinics and could not be interviewed.

The study revealed that nursing students encountered negative and positive experiences at PHC clinics. Both experiences confirmed that PHC settings can be valuable learning opportunities for nursing students who appreciated and acknowledged PHC settings as such. Nursing students appreciated the involvement of professional nurses as supervisors who created an atmosphere conducive for teaching and learning by being welcoming and through challenging nursing students and encouraging their independence. The study’s recommendations can guide professional nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers and other healthcare workers to support nursing students and strengthen students’ resilience during these clinical challenging situations. These include support that should be provided at PHC settings by staff and the nursing college, including support relating to patients and to the clinical environment conducive for teaching and learning, there should be improvement of services and availability of resources and the provision of training for professional nurses and non-nursing staff members. As such, the study recognised the resilience of nursing students when placed in PHC clinics for clinical practice and supervision.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Gauteng Department of Health, Health District where the study took place.

Manuscript stems from a dissertation submitted by B.M. Zulu in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Curationis in Health Science Education at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University; Supervisor: Prof. E. du Plessis; Co-supervisor: Prof. M.P. Koen.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

Authors’ contributions

B.M.Z. was the researcher, responsible for conceptualising and execution of the study under the supervision of E.d.P. and M.P.K. All authors contributed towards the writing of the article.

Funding information

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Data availability

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors, and the publishers.

How to cite this article: Zulu, B.M., Du Plessis, E. & Koen, M.P., 2021, ‘Experiences of nursing students regarding clinical placement and support in primary healthcare clinics: Strengthening resilience’, Health SA Gesondheid 26(0), a1615. https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v26i0.1615

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Nursing Student’s College Experience

Learning something new is a hard issue, especially if you try to acquire knowledge and experience that will help to build a successful career and become an outstanding specialist. The task becomes even more complicated if a person wants to work in the healthcare sector. The price of a mistake is high here, and every piece of knowledge is crucial for the enhanced performance and health workers ability to help patients and assist in their recovery (ANA 11). That is why I perfectly realize the unique importance of my college experience and the role it will play in my future life.

I should say that being a nursing student is a hard journey as you face numerous challenges and obstacles that alter your mentality and result in the formation of a particular perspective on your occupation. That is why I am sure that reconsideration of my values and acceptance of responsibility are the most significant parts of my college experience. Now, I am another person who understands the unique importance of nursing and the role it plays in the modern healthcare sector.

This change to a greater degree is preconditioned by the new knowledge I acquire every day. It is another fundamental part of my college experience. There is hardly an occupation as demanding of information as nursing. A good specialist should possess enormous amounts of data to work effectively and provide patients with services and care they need (Potter 13). That is why I think that the ability to acquire, process, and comprehend new information is central for a specialist working in this sphere. For that very reason, studying and constant acquisition of knowledge are other significant parts of my college experience. I am sure that it helps to create the basis for my future career and provides me with approaches I will be able to utilize in practice.

At the same time, I also recognized the fact that in their work nurses often faces problems that should be investigated to find an appropriate solution and assist a patient in his/her recovery. That is why the research work should become a significant part of my experience, and I hope that college will provide me with the opportunity to master my skills in this sphere to become an outstanding specialist who really contributes to the development of nursing science and provides colleagues with new methods to cope with diverse health issues that might appear. I also hope that studying at college I will be able to acquire and master the practical skills that will help me to work effectively.

Altogether, studying at a college might be challenging; however, it is one of the most significant and pleasant experiences as you realize the importance of the information you acquire and a role it plays in a future career. Additionally, new friends who face the same problems make the process easier as they support me. In conclusion, I think that college will give me all I need to become a good specialist.

Works Cited

American Nurses Association (ANA). N ursing: Scope and Standards of Practice . American Nurses Association, 2015.

Potter, Patricia, et al. Fundamentals of Nursing . Mosby, 2016.

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A Day in the Life of a School Nurse

Nestled within the busy halls of a high school lies a hidden hero, the school nurse, who is always ready to heal, comfort, and empower. I recently had the privilege of shadowing one such nurse, and the experience was nothing short of inspiring. I visited Westerville Central High School, a suburban community with a diverse student population.

As the day drew to a close, I couldn’t help but reflect on the invaluable role school nurses play in the lives of students. They are not just caregivers; they are mentors, confidants, and advocates, shaping the futures of students and their relationship with healthy and safety.

My experience at Westerville Central High School addresses Sustainable Development Goal number 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promotes well-being for all at all ages. In particular, the role of the school nurse includes addressing target 3.b of this goal, which states, support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases…to protect public health, and in particular, provide access to medicines for all. We provided families and students resources and education regarding immunizations and vaccines that are required for all high school students in the state of Ohio. It is imperative that families and students are aware of the benefits, risks, and health outcomes that are associated with administration of immunizations and vaccines. I am confident that the families we spoke with today are now well informed and are equipped with the knowledge and resources to make important health decisions.

In conclusion, my day shadowing a school nurse was a whirlwind of excitement, compassion, and learning. It reinforced my belief in the power of kindness and empathy and left me in awe of the incredible work done by school nurses every day.

I also stopped by Rooster’s for dinner, a mid western staple for chicken wings and sports. I grabbed some Cheryl’s Cookies for our COIL friends, hoping to introduce them to a delicious Columbus sweet staple. The Roosters Foundation gives back over 1 million dollars to local charities and organizations each year, with their Cheryl’s Cookie sales being a top contributor. 100% of proceeds from sales goes directly to The Urban and Shelby Meyer Fund for Cancer Research, a fund that helps to recruit experts in the field of cancer research to the OSUCCC – James. I am excited for the students to try the cookies while also supporting a great cause!

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We carefully handpick all our paper writers to ensure that each of them demonstrates the highest level of professionalism, expertise, and dedication. This approach allows us to deliver authentic and highly original papers for everyone who turns to us with a "write my essays" request.

Our experienced essay help team specializes in crafting a variety of paper types at varying levels of complexity. From a simple one-page essay to a thorough and complex dissertation - EssayPro has you covered.

Thanks to our vast experience, we create papers tailored to every customer’s unique needs. And we’re ready to handle any learning challenges you are facing. When you turn to us for help, you will receive the best quality of service within your specified timeframe!

How can hiring an expert essay writer help me?

You're probably contending with a number of different challenges, such as combining studies with sports and other extracurriculars. On top of that, maybe you have a side hustle or even a full-time job to cover your expenses. So, if your life is intense and fast-paced, having a trusted assistant by your side can't hurt. And that’s why EssayPro is here!

By hiring professional essay writers, you're allowing us to take some of the load off your shoulders. When you are busy with a job, sports, family commitments, or anything else, all it takes is to say, “please write my essays for me,” and we will help you get your papers done right and without hassle.

We offer different services and features to ensure your "write my paper" request is completed exactly how you need. Whether you need an essay or any other paper - we’ll take up the challenge. When your papers are due in a week or in just 3 hours - we’ll deliver them on time, or you will receive a refund in accordance with our Refund Policy. And, if you have other things to do or simply want to rest from your struggles - try our essay writer help to regain control of your life!

The fastest way to "write my essay for me"

Our paper writing service team knows that a learner’s life often involves juggling lots of responsibilities and pursuing several important goals at once. But what if you’re constantly drained? You might feel overwhelmed trying to manage your workload, even though you're doing your best.

We’ve been there - it’s not your fault. The thing is, there almost always isn't enough time to handle all your assignments properly. This can put a lot of pressure on you, causing you to be too hard on yourself just to tick all the boxes on your list. Pushing yourself to achieve unrealistic goals makes matters worse, introducing the likelihood of burnout and even depression.

Our "write my paper for me" service was created to help you avoid this. With our essay writing help, every learner can delegate their tasks to professionals who will complete them right on time while following the requirements you provided. Starting from just $11 per page, we give you an opportunity to save your energy for things that matter. And that’s not all!

We realize that you can be in a tight spot when there is no time to complete a paper due in just a few days. The good news is that you can hire an essay writer to deal with this challenge for you. Even if you’re in a rush, we can deliver your paper ASAP without compromising on quality!

Say “write my paper” and get help from top-rated writers

Whether you have a last-minute essay or some extensive research work that you are dealing with, you shouldn’t worry about it when there’s EssayPro by your side. Our essay writing service is always here to give you a helping hand, with top-level professionalism guaranteed.

Our service collaborates with the best paper writers. Our experts hold Bachelor’s, Master’s, and even Ph.D. degrees, and each of them has vast experience crafting papers in their respective fields.

Before we let a new partner work on your "write essay for me" orders, we put them through several rounds of verification and tests to ensure their qualifications are high enough to deliver results at an academic standard. And we require them to study and follow our thorough quality control procedures for the best results.

What else allows us to reach almost 100% satisfaction? Apart from selecting the best authors, we also work with seasoned managers who will supervise their work. We believe that effective supervision is the key to ensuring consistently high quality for every paper we deliver. So, when you pay for essay with us, you always have a quality guarantee.

To reap these benefits, just start an order with our service and pick your perfect expert. Our service operates 24/7, so you can reach us whenever you need.

Once your order is placed and assigned to an expert, they will complete it per your instructions. Our experienced authors will tailor every paper to your unique requirements. And, once the order is ready, you can always download and check it before releasing payment.

Lastly, we give every client 14 or 30 days after an order's completion to request amendments for free.

All these factors make us one of the best writing service providers for you. So, don’t waste any time and get your professional assistance now!

A professional paper writing service you can afford

Whether requesting an essay, or any other type of assistance, with EssayPro, you can afford it! When you place your "write my essay online" order with us, you get:

• User-friendly interface and seamless ordering process
• The best paper writers for hire
• Professional assistance with a variety of paper types
• Customer-centered approach
• Round-the-clock support
• On-time delivery
• Amendments until you consider your paper flawless
• And we make all of it affordable for every learner!

The price for our "write paper for me" services starts from as low as $11 per page. What’s more, we always provide generous discounts while putting those precious hours back into your life. For instance, the further your completion date - the lower the price.

Also, the more pages you order, the more cost-effective our service is.

EssayPro is the perfect balance of accessibility and professionalism. With us, everyone can afford to hire an expert essay writer. It's an investment in the future that results in better performance with less stress. So, don’t miss this chance!

Pick the paper writer you like most

At our essay writing help service, you will find a large pool of qualified essay writers ready to lend you a helping hand. What’s more, when you pay for essays with us, you have the opportunity to select the author that best suits your needs.

Choosing your perfect expert is simple. You can browse specialists by their field of expertise and experience. You will also be able to see their bios, rate of success, customer reviews, and overall ratings, so it’ll be much easier to make the right choice. In addition, you’ll be able to chat with professionals bidding on your order. This way, you can find out even more information about the person who’ll work on your paper.

Need extra help? Don’t worry! Our friendly support team is there for you 24/7. Just drop them a line saying, “I want to pay someone to write my paper,” and they will tell you how to order and pick the most suitable author.

Exceptional "write my essay" experience

We want every customer to have the best experience when they hire an online paper writer. Our paper writing service team does everything possible to deliver a positive client experience. To make good on this commitment, we made our service's interface extremely user-friendly. It is easy to navigate and intuitive, so even new customers can quickly place their "do my essay" orders in minutes.

Apart from this, our support team operates 24/7. This allows customers to ask their questions, receive prompt assistance, and place their “write a paper for me” orders at any time.

We provide high-quality guarantees, collaborate with the best authors, and offer a wide range of other benefits. So, if you are looking to pay someone to write your essay, there is no better place than EssayPro!

What if I’m not satisfied with my "write my essay for me" order?

Although dissatisfaction is rare with our professional essay writers, as we always strive to follow all your instuctions, there may be additional adjustments that you want to make in your paper. And that’s okay!

Sometimes, especially when your "write my paper" order is complex and comes with a broad set of requirements, you may have the need for extra edits. Our team is always open to this. After your order's delivery, you can request unlimited amendments free of charge. So, if it turns out that the final draft of your paper doesn’t align with your initial instructions, don’t hesitate to ask for corrections.

To request edits, you only need to contact the author who completed your paper and explain your concerns. Then, along with our expert QA team, the author will make all the necessary edits to ensure everything meets your requirements from our essay writing service online.

If it turns out that you are completely dissatisfied with the work, which is rare, refunds are possible according to our Refund Policy. If you pay for an essay and are not happy with its quality, you can request a refund within 14 or 30 days upon the completion of your order, depending on your order type.

Do my essay perfectly!

Ready to get top-quality "write a paper for me" assistance? With EssayPro, you are in good hands! All you need to do is say, “please, write my paper for me,” and we will do everything possible to support you!

To ensure that learners can delegate any type of assignment to us, we partner with qualified paper writers with experience in different fields of study. We can easily handle any order regarding business, literature, chemistry, marketing, etc.

Choosing your ideal essay writer online is also easy. We keep our experts’ profiles and ratings publicly visible. So, it never takes too long to find the right professional for your order.

Regardless of the type of help you need and the author you select, with our essay service, you can always expect the best results. All our experts are native English speakers and each of them is capable of:

• Performing in-depth research and finding credible sources
• Completing even the most complex assignments on time
• Meeting the client halfway
• Keeping customer requirements and comments in mind
• Coping with any paper's topic within their area of proficiency

Get help from an online essay writer now

Want to request professional essay writer help and get it right this moment? We have you covered! Just reach out to us and say, “write my paper,” and we will do it for you, regardless of whether it’s due in a week or a day.

Here is how you can make the most of our essay writing service.

Create a personal account

To join EssayPro as a customer, simply provide us with your name and email address or phone number. Then, come up with a password for your account and verify your email.

Give us your requirements

When your personal account is ready, place your "do my essay" order right from the dashboard. It only takes a few moments to fill out the order form and tell us about your assignment.

Assign a suitable author

Check our database of professionals and choose one based on their field of expertise, rating, success rate, and customer feedback. Or just drop a line saying, “I want to pay someone to write my essay” to our customer support and let us find the right expert for you.

Communicate your last-minute requirements

Forgot to mention something important in your "write an essay for me" order? No problem! Use the direct chat feature to contact your author and pass on any last-minute requirements that you have for your paper. Our experts keep your comments in mind when working on your assignment.

Stay in touch

Keep in contact with your assigned expert at every stage of the order process. Use the direct chat feature to monitor your paper's progress, provide additional requirements, or ask any questions that pop up along the way.

Get your tailored paper

When your order is done, you will find a notification in your mailbox. You will be able to download the final draft and ensure that the author has followed all your instructions. If you are happy with the result, pay for your order. And if there is anything that needs to be fixed or changed, feel free to ask for amendments.

That’s how easily you can get help from us!

Get more done with an expert essay writer by your side

Are you completely overwhelmed with work? Struggling to handle daily work and other responsibilities? You've come to the right place as we're set up to alleviate your worries. Make a "write my paper" request and we will make hundreds of qualified and experienced writers available to you. Pick a writer, send them your requirements, and use the opportunity to catch up with your work or other duties, safe in the knowledge that you are getting a tailored paper before your due date.

When you leave us your "do my essay" request, you are assured of highly original work based on the requirements you provided to our essay writing service. We put all our papers through the most commonly used originality software. You can request this report upon order completion to confirm your work's authenticity.

The choice is simple. Get an expert to do your paper writing and give yourself room to breathe. Rest assured, your comfort and confidence in our services remain our top priority. So if you want to "pay someone to write my essay," you've come to the best place. The final result is tailored, highly original writing that is affordable and will help you save time and avoid headaches!

Essay writing service that keeps your data safe

Getting paper writing help is not a shameful practice, yet we understand the wishes of our customers to keep their personal information safe. That's why we only partner with world-renowned payment gateways, which implement the highest levels of encryption, ensuring that both your personal data and card information are in safe hands.

Say "help write my essay" knowing that you won't be exposed and that your data is protected using bank-level security standards. Hire essay writers and work with real pros. Gain access to a unique set of bonuses and enjoy more free time for what you love!